Faith in the Stars, For Our Fate is in Your Hands
by Feudal Peach
Summary: Her Great House had fallen but by the mercy of the gods, she became a part of a new family. Years later she finds out that not everyone died that night and now she is out to find her twin brother. Their father left them with not only just his legacy but all his secret, as well as his enemies. Now the twins must raise from the ashes and finish what their father started. AU Story!
1. The Great Summoner's War

**Faith in the Stars, For Our Fate is in Your Hands**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

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A/N: Ok, so this was a story I had started years ago and completely forgot that I had it until I came across one of my old flash drives. So when I came upon it last week I started reading through it and got inspired to pick it back up, of course I got a lot of rewriting to do but I got a pretty good plan for this. Don't worry, A Tale of Souls and Swords hasn't been forgotten and that story will take first priority but I need a side project to work on for when I find myself stuck with writer's block. So I will be working on this from time to time. A Tale of Souls and Swords should be updated by sometime next week at the latest. I am about 3/4 done with the next chapter so keep a look out on that as well.

This will be my first attempt at an AU story. Initially I had planned to use only Japanese mythology in this story but soon came to a slight problem and that being that youkai are a major part of Japanese mythology. lol So instead I will be using mythology from all over the world and will incorporate it into the story. Mythology facts will be listed at the bottom for those who are not familiar with them. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and feel free to review, they are much appreciated. :D

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 **Chapter 1: The Great Summoner's War**

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"Mama, What is papa doing?" A little girl asked in a whisper to her mother as she peaked around the door, looking into her father's study. The woman glanced down at her seven year old daughter before looking to see what her husband was doing.

"He is researching, my dear." The woman told her in a soft whisper as she knelt next to her little girl. The little girl looked back at her mother in confusion. "What is researching?"

The woman gave out a small laugh before trying to come up with something her daughter would understand. "He is looking for something and hopefully one of those scrolls will have what he is looking for."

"... What is papa looking for?" The woman looked down thoughtfully before she spoke again.

"He is looking for answers." The little girl huffed and crossed her arms, her mother always did this to her when there was something she didn't want her or her brother to know about.

"Answers to what?" This time the question came out louder than a whisper and unintentionally grabbed her father's attention.

"To the secrets of the stars." The little girl's head whipped around to face her father as his deep voice answered her question this time. The little girl bashfully looked down at her feet, she hadn't meant to disturb her father. She just couldn't help herself, she hardly got to see her father anymore. When she looked back up at her father she saw him beckon her to come closer. Slowly the little girl shuffled her feet over to where his desk was. She watch as he scooted himself back to make some room and helped his daughter up to sit in his lap.

The little girl looked around her father's desk at all the scrolls and papers that were scattered about. Just as she was about to ask her next question she paused and a new question popped into her head. Reaching over to the right side of the desk, she grabbed a small wooden box but it wasn't the box that interested her in any way, it was what laid in the box that had her mesmerized. But just as she was about to reach in and pick one up, a loud racket made her jump and look over at the door.

A small boy, the same age as her, slowly picked himself up off the floor and rubbed his eyes sleepily before coming over to sit on his father's lap as well. The little girl rolled her eyes at the clumsy boy, her twin brother was always tripping over his own feet. Looking back down at the box, she couldn't help herself and had to ask. "Papa, What are these?"

Her father looked down into the box before smiling. "Those are what we call Star Stones." Looking back down at the box again, little girl looked at the small glowing stones in fascination.

"Father, what are Star Stones?" This time it was the little boy that asked as he leaned over to look at the stones with his sister. Their father looked at them in contemplation before asking them a question instead. "Have I ever told you two about the Great Summoner's War?" He watched as both his children shook their heads and decided to tell them a story.

"Well about a thousand years ago we humans were at war with the youkai. A war that had lasted for a hundred years. Youkai, as you two know, are very strong... Stronger than any human could ever wish to be and at the beginning all seemed lost for us. For there was no way we could win against such strong enemies." He paused as he heard his son and daughter gasp, both looking up at him in fear and confusion. "But then something happened, the gods decided that their first creations had an unfair advantage and so they decided to even the odds. They gave their second creations the gift of light. A light that gave them the strength to fight back but since their were more humans than youkai, they decided that only certain humans will be blessed with this new power..."

"Papa, we already know the story about how we became monks and mikos." The little girl whined, the story was becoming familiar to her now. She was sure that she heard this story before. "We want to know about the Star Stones."

"Well, I was getting to that, you just need to be a little patient. Would you like me to stop?" He watched as they both shook their heads no and laughed. "As I was saying, with this new power the humans started to fight back. No longer were they running in fear and soon an army of monks and mikos raised to defend there kind. Another hundred years of war passed and it started to look as if the war will never end. Both humans and youkai were taking heavy losses, the gods didn't know what else to do to stop this madness that the world had fallen into. They knew though that if the humans ever made even the tiniest slip that it would be over for the human race for the youkai would take full advantage of it. So after much contemplation, the gods decided to once again help their second creations but they made sure not to tip the scale too much in their favor for they didn't want their first creations to die out either. This new weapon had to be earned and only the strongest of monks and mikos could wield them. So one night, all of gods creations watched as a shower of small shooting stars came down from the heavens and hundreds of them landed all over the world. No one at the time knew what they were or what it meant but they all agreed that it had something to do with the gods. It wasn't until one day, fifty years later, that a woman by the name of Midoriko came upon a small glowing stone with a symbol etched into it. She had looked at the stone curiously and was startled when she could hear it start to whisper to her. Looking closely at the symbol she realized that it was actually a name and without another thought she whispered the name out loud. She watched in amazement as the blue stone glowed so bright that she had to cover her eyes and when it finally stopped she looked back down at her hand only to realize that the stone was gone. Puzzled, she looked around for it to see if she dropped it but found nothing. It wasn't until she heard a loud growl rumbling behind her that she noticed she was no longer alone. Slowly she turned around and came face to face with a massive blue and gold dragon, he was bigger than any youkai that she has ever seen before." The twins watched as their father reached forward and grabbed a glowing blue stone from inside the box to show the two the Japanese emblem that was etched into it.

"His name was Ryujin." The little ones gasped as they looked at the item in their father's hand. The little girl reached out and picked up the stone to look at it as her father began to tell more of the story.

"Ryujin told Midoriko that as long as her heart stayed true and pure, he would follow and help her kind overcome the war that her people were falling to. That together, they could bring peace back to the lands and both creations could finally live peacefully with each other. So together the two traveled, from North to South, East to West, collecting other Star Stones and pushing the Youkai Lords back with an army of other monks and mikos. It didn't take long for Midoriko to discover others that could summon the beasts that were trapped in these beautiful stones... And they decided to call themselves the Summoners. Soon the Youkai Lords had come to realize that they couldn't win against these giant beasts that the humans have gathered. Sensing their end coming near, the Lords had to make a decision, surrender or fight til the last one fell." Ken'ichi paused for slight dramatic effect and delighted when he heard his twins gasp, both eager to hear what would happen next.  
"So did they surrendered Papa? They had to of because their are still youkai here today!" Ken'ichi chuckled softly, not surprised by his little girl's words. She had always shown early on that she was quick witted.

"Well... No, they didn't surrender, they were far too stubborn for that. But Midoriko wasn't going to let this war continue on any longer. So she called a meeting with the youkai lords to suggest a truce. A truce that still stands strong today." Ken'ichi smiled down at his children.

"What was the truce Father?" The little boy asked as his sister handed him the glowing blue star stone. Ken'ichi watched as his little girl looked down at the box before picking up a glowing red stone this time.

"That the summoners would pull back and stand down as long as the youkai lords agreed to their terms. Midoriko told the lords that the gods wanted their races to be at peace, so she purposed a truce, one where they all could work together. The summoners would be responsible for the human race and the youkai lords would rule over their own. But they would work together to accomplish this. Since their were 4 youkai lords, one for each territory, their would also be 4 summoner houses that would take care of the humans in those territories. The lords would get to choose the strongest house in their territory, which is what started the Great Summoner Tournament. So every 10 years all the summoner houses come together to compete to see who was the strongest and earned the right to rule next to the youkai lord of their territory." Ken'ichi finished with a small smile.

"Is that why you are always gone papa?" The little girl asked as she looked up at her father with a curious stare.

"Yes, sweetheart. The Higurashi House has been the ruling House of the West ever since Midoriko purposed the truce." Both children looked over at the doorway to look at their mother as she answered their question this time. A long moan like growl broke the small silence that over took the family and everyone turned their attention towards the other end of the study. They all watched as a golden color wolf stretched out his long lean body before fully standing up on all fours and looked over at the family. His sharp electrified eyes scanned the room a moment before he approached the father and two children.

"Father, did Raiju come from a star stone?" The little boy asked as he reached out to pet the wolf. He let out a giggle as the wolf turned to lick the boys face. The little girl went to reach out and pet the wolf as well, but stopped short when she saw small sparks of electricity run across the wolf's body.

"Yes, Raiju is my soul companion, every summoner has one. When a summoner first comes into their power, one particular star stone will reach out to the summoner by whispering to them. This stone will then become that summoners soul stone, and their very first star stone. Unlike the other star stones that the summoner will get, this companion will stay by their chosen summoner's side until the day they die." Ken'ichi told his children before glancing up to look at his wife.

A short scream broke the serene silence of the room. Ken'ichi snapped his head towards the window in his study before quickly standing up and setting his children down. Making his way over to the window that over looked the courtyard of the shrine. The light of the moon made it easy for him to see three of his servants dash to the right side where smoke began to bellow up and shroud everything. More screams followed and more people rushed around. The rush of movement caused the smoke to swirl and further expand. All the bodies of the people down below soon disappeared because of this, all accept one figure that slowly walked through it. Ken'ichi narrowed his eyes as he watched the silhouette. The figure started to become more and more clear with every step he took and when he finally breached through the smoke, Ken'ichi gritted his teeth. 'So the time has finally come.' He thought to himself as he locked eyes with the man staring up at him from the courtyard.

Ken'ichi swiftly turned away from the window and walked to his desk, collecting important items. Reaching for the box of star stones, he searched for the blue stone he told his children about, only to realize that his son still had it. Grabbing a small brown leather pouch, he poured the remaining star stones into it before turning to face Raiju and knelt down to one knee.

"The time has come old friend." He whispered to the lightning wolf, and with a nod of his head followed by a low whine, the family watched as a bright golden light consumed the canine. When the light finally disappeared, a golden star stone was left in his place. Ken'ichi reached out and picked up the stone before putting it in the bag with the others. Getting back up he grabbed a leather bound journal from his desk before he made his way over to his family, who was waiting by the doorway.

Sending a small smile to his children, he handed his little boy the pouch of star stones and took the glowing blue stone. Next he handed his little girl his leather journal and kissed them both on their forehead before telling them. "Take care of your mother for me, ok. Can you do that?" He watched as both his children nodded their heads as they looked at him in confusion. He gave them a reassuring smile before facing his wife, who already had tears in her eyes as she realized what was going on.

"Aoi, Take the children and get to the Western palace as fast as you can, don't stop for anything. Make sure you tell Lord Touga what has happened here." He told her softly and watched as she gave him a nod. Leaning forward, he gave his wife a quick kiss before ushering them all out the door. He watched as his wife rushed the children to the right, all the way down the hall before disappearing completely.

"My Lord, my Lord! We are under attack." Ken'ichi turned to face the fellow monk before nodding his head. "Make sure everyone gets out of here. completely clear the compound." The monk made a quick bow before running off to do as he was told. Ken'ichi turned left and made his way out of the shrine. It only took him a few minutes to navigate the halls and step out into the courtyard, facing the man that invaded his home.

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Aoi ushered her little ones out of the shrine, trying her best to dodge the panic induced people that were doing their best to flee. Looking around frantically, she finally spotted the stables and quickly rushed her children towards it. The horses were in just as much of a panic as the humans were, most of them bucked around and were ramming their gates. Aoi ignored this though as they raced past all of them, her destination was located at the back of the stable. Finally reaching the last stall, Aoi looked to the right and spotted what she was looking for.

Letting go of the twin's hands, she walked up to the obsidian black, 8 legged horse. His eyes glowed a bright red as he looked down at Aoi. "We need to leave, and quickly. We have no time." The horse looked over at the children then back at Aoi before giving a nod and stomped his giant hove. Aoi turned to her children before picking them up one by one to set them on top of the horse, then climbed up herself before taking off.

They raced as fast as they could through the forest, climbing further and further up the deep slope of the mountain. Down below, the fires raged brightly as it consumed the shrine but it wasn't until a deep vibrating roar echoed throughout the area that Aoi finally paused and looked back. The small family looked on in frightening horror as a monstrous wolf appeared down below. His fur was a thick dark grey and he had eyes the color of murderous red. Even being as far away as they were, they could hear the clinking of broken chains as the creature walked forward, towering over the trees as they crunched underneath him as he made his way towards the burning shrine. It was only a quick second later when a blinding blue light flashed throughout the area before a giant blue and golden scaled dragon appeared on the other side of the shrine. Another deafening roar answered the opposing one, as the serpent's slick lean body coiled up in preparation to fight.

Everything stood silent, the tension in the air was almost suffocating and it felt like eternity had passed before the wolf finally made his move and lunged toward the dragon. Claws and teeth ripped into each other as they battled. The ground shook as they did a wild and haphazard dance, pouncing and dodging around each other. The family watched as the wolf's claws blazed with fire as he lunged for the dragon. As the serpent went to dodge left, the wolf quickly adjusted his direction to follow, finally succeeding in tackling the dragon. Both flew through the air, rapidly heading in the direction of the mountain.

Aoi's eyes widened as she watched the colossal giants heading their way. "Sleipnir, Run!" The horse in question wildly turned and began to race back up the mountain path. Unfortunately Sleipnir wasn't quick enough to get out of immediate area and as the serpent crashed into the side of the mountain, the shattering impact of the earth sent a shock wave of debre, causing him to stumble. Aoi almost lost her grip on her children, barely being able to keep all three of them on Sleipnir's back as he continued to race for safety, trying to dodge the claws of the wolf as he stuck down. But just as Sleipnir finally put enough distance between them and the fighting giants, a deep growl screeched out of the massive dragon's maws and immediately after a rain of lightning struck down. The bolts littered the area as it attempted to strike the wolf, but unfortunately a stray bolt struck too close to Sleipnir, causing him to lose his balance and dislodging the family from his back.

"Kagome!" Aoi's hold on her little girl loosened as they were thrown off, causing her to be flung to the left side as Aoi and her son were thrown to the right. Kagome cried out as she took a hard landing, her momentum caused her to keep rolling down the side off the path. She continued to slide another 20 feet down before coming to a sudden stop as she slammed into a large rock.

She laid there, motionless, for a good 5 minutes before the little girl attempted to move. Slowly she pushed herself up on all fours before looking around. Her mother and brother were nowhere to be seen so she called out to them. "Mama! Souta! Where are you?" Kagome waited for a minute and listened but couldn't hear anything over all the noise of the battle. Tears soon escaped her eyes, blurring her vision as she tried to search. Slowly she began to stand up but pain shot through her right ankle causing her to cry out and clutch at the rock for support. After another minute or two, she tried again. This time limping as she tried to climb back up to the path. But one small misstep caused the little girl to lose her balance, sending her backwards and this time, there was nothing to stop her fall.

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The scent of smoke hung heavily in the air and the dense fog didn't help the Lord as he tried to figure what had exactly happened. By what he could smell, the destruction had happened hours ago but from here he was able to determine that it didn't take place in his territory. The tall male paused in step by the river that separated the North from the West and looked around. His long sapphire blue hair whipped around him as the wind played with it, violet orbs scanned the now quite forest, looking for something, looking for anything! A frown soon appeared as nothing stood out. Well now that he knew that his lands were safe, he could finally be on his way and head home. Just as the Northern youkai lord went to turn to head back the way he came, a small red glow caught his eye.

Lord Ryou slowly made his way towards the tiny glow and as he got closer he realized it was a small body that had washed up on the rivers bank. From what he could tell, the little thing was human... And female. Her bright red kimono was torn and muted due to the dirt that covered her. Blood clung to her but she was still breathing, just barely. Kneeling down, Lord Ryou carefully turned the small body over and the dim red glow got brighter. There, clutched in her tiny right hand was a star stone. 'So the little one isn't just any normal human.' He thought to himself as he looked her over once more. She wore nothing that told him of what House she belonged to but did have a leather journal tucked into her obi. After another moment of thought, Lord Ryou made his decision and carefully picked up the small broken body before heading home.

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 **END OF CHAPTER 1**

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A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

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 **(MYTHOLOGY FACTS)**

-Ryujin: Is a dragon king and is known to be a deity of the sea. -Japanese Mythology

-Raiju: Is the companion to Raijin (Thunder God). He is mostly depicted as a wolf. -Japanese Mythology

-Sleipnir: Is an 8 legged horse ridden by Odin (Father of god). It is said that Odin will sometimes rid Sleipnir to Hel.-Norse Mythology


	2. Time Can't Heal Everything

**Faith in the Stars, For Our Fate is in Your Hands**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

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A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews!

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 **Original Characters**

*Lord Ryou- Lord of the North

*Ken'ichi Higurashi- Human lord of the West/ Head of the house of Higurashi

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 **Chapter 2: Time Can't Heal Everything**

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 **(10 Years Later)**

A young man sat behind a wooden desk, passing his time lost in thought as he stared out the window located to his right. He did his best to drown out the voice of his tutor as he went on and on about things he had no interest in. He didn't see the point, no matter how hard he tried, he still failed to do what was asked of him.

"Master Higurashi, are you listening to me?" Souta finally pulled his eyes away from the window to look at the old turtle youkai that sat before him and sighed. The 17 year old boy straightened up, before glancing over at his Sensai. His blue eyes told the old youkai that today was not going to be a good day for the Higurashi boy and talking about his summoning lessons will do no good. He sighed as he heard the young man's reply. "Yes Yori Sensei, I am listening although I don't see the point."

"Master Higurashi, you are well past the age of being able to summon your star stones. Since you are the last of the Higurashi line, it is important that you learn all this. Your father would want-"

"Do not talk about my father, Yori Sensei. He's dead... And you don't know what he would want." Souta spit out and his glare intensified. He didn't want to talk about his father or that day, the day he lost his entire family. They claimed that it was a clumsy servant that knocked over a candle and started the fire, but he knew differently. They were attacked, by who he didn't know. The last thing he remembered was being thrown off Sleipnir's back, along with his mother. When he woke up again, the battle was over. The forest was thick with smoke and everything laid in ruins. He remembered feeling a heavy weight on top of him and he struggled for awhile to break free of it, only to discover that the weight that held him down was his mother. She died protecting him. He was told that she sustained a head injury when she hit the boulder she was trying to protect him from. It wasn't long after he woke up that Lord Touga and his men found them.

Lord Touga told him that the only reason they were able to find him was because of Sleipnir's star stone. When his mother had died, Sleipnir was forced back into his stone and the red glow of it attracted the guards and was able to lead them to him. Souta looked down at the two star stones that he held in his hand, one was red and the other gold. His mother and father's soul stones. He carried them around in hopes that perhaps one of them will eventually choose to be his soul stone but still he felt nothing. He was starting to believe that he was not meant to be a summoner, and maybe it was his sisters calling instead of his own. But she was dead like the rest of his family. No one was able to find her body, they followed her scent to a cliff and they assumed that she didn't survive the fall... Even if she did manage to land in the river below. Later they told him that they found his father's body, who died of a stab wound. The star stone of Ryujin was never recovered and he believed the man who attacked them had taken it after he murdered his father.

So here he was, the last of his line. It was Lord Touga's hope that he would eventually tap into his summoning abilities and take his father's place, but if he couldn't... Then the only course left would be to denounce the House of Higurashi as the ruling house of the West. If that happened then his Aunt would take his place. His Aunt Hinata had married into the House of Matsumoto,the Summoners of Shadows, which was the second strongest house in the West. Each Youkai Lord had a ruling House that ruled over the human race but they also had a secondary House, their second strongest, already in place just in case something would happened to the ruling House in their territory... Like what had happened to his family. In the event where a House should fall, the secondary house would take it's place until the Great Summoner's Tournament would commence. During that tournament, a different House can challenge any of the ruling Houses to take their place. Now, ten years after the fall of his family, the time has come. Three weeks from now the Great Summoner's Tournament will begin and he was in no way ready, he couldn't even summon the stupid star stones. Anger and disappointment consumed him, he had failed not only his father but his entire family.

Yori watched as the young Higurashi boy leaned over the table and crossed his arms on top of it before his head burrowed into them, hiding himself away from everything around him. Giving out a long sigh, Yori finally nodded before getting up. He didn't want to but he knew the boy was right, at this point there was little they could do to help the boy and that saddened him. Lord Higurashi was one of the very few humans he had ever come to admire and respect, and it broke his heart that he failed his son that sat before him. He was sure that Souta had the power to summon the star stones but he had know idea what else he could do to make that happen.

"Very well, master Higurashi. I will discus this with my Lord." Yori said softly and after waiting a few moments for a response, which he didn't get, he turned and left the library. Slowly Yori followed the halls that led to his Lord's study, his walk was somber as he lost himself in thought. Lord Touga was going to be disappointed, he too had great respect for the boy's father and had high hopes for the boy himself.

An deep growl broke his thoughts and he came to a sudden stop in front of his Lord's study. Just as he was about to knock, the door to the study was ripped opened, startling the old turtle. Quickly Yori stepped aside to get out of his Lord's eldest sons way as he stormed out of the study. He took noticed at how Master Sesshoumaru's yoki fluctuated with rage, whipping around him like a furious storm as he continued down the hall. Yori waited until the young inu was out of sight before turning around to peek into the study. He heard Lord Touga give out a long sigh before he beckoned him to enter.

"Come in, Yori." Slowly the turtle stepped forward and bowed low to his Lord and Lady, who was also sitting in front of his Lord's deck. "My Lord, is everything well?" Yori couldn't help but ask. It was very rare to see Master Sesshoumaru in such a raging state, especially since he was known for his calm and cold demeanor.

"Everything is well, old friend. He just isn't all that happy about his upcoming mating." Yori's eyes widened as he looked up at his Lord. "This is great news my Lord... Has an intended been chosen yet?" Yori couldn't help but ask. He firmly believed that by having a mate, it would do the young master a world of good, hopefully it will calm the pugnacious beast that lurked inside the young inu.

"No, not yet... But soon." Touga said with a sigh. He wasn't looking forward to it either, his son was going to fight him every step of the way. Giving his temple a slight rub to try and relax himself before looking back over at Yori. "Enough of that for now. What brings you here Yori?" After a few moments of silence passed, Yori took a deep breath before he spoke.

"It's about Master Higurashi, my Lord." Yori watched as Touga leaned back before crossing his arms. "Has there been any change?" Touga asked, even though he already had the feeling that he knew the answer.

"No, my Lord. Unfortunately not and I'm afraid that the young boy has lost all hope in trying." Yori said sadly and Touga sighed in disappointment, he was afraid of that. They all could feel the great spiritual power that radiated off the boy but for some reason he just couldn't tap into it.

"So it would seem that the House of Matsumoto will finally get their wish." Lady Inukimi hummed out. Touga got up and walked over to his study window and stared out in deep thought.

"Yes, it would seem so but is Lady Hinata's Heir ready to step forward? Lady Hinata doesn't hold any spiritual energy, so her daughter is the only one that would be able to ascend the throne." Yori asked as he looked between his Lord and Lady, hoping one of them would answer.

"It will be her first tournament but from what this one has heard Lady Kikyo is quite powerful. Even more powerful than her father." Lady Inukimi chimed out, choosing to be the one to answer. "Which brings this one to her biggest concern..." Lady Inukimi continued as she looked over at her mate. "Are you going to accept the House of Takahashi into the West? Lord Nori has become impatient in waiting for your answer."

Touga's head whipped around to face his mate and he growled. "Lord Nori is already the ruling house of the North. This one will not take Lord Ryou's ruling House, it could cause a war." Touga told his mate with a glare. They had already talked about this, but yet she kept bringing it up. Inukimi returned her mate's glare but other wise remained calm.

"Mate, we need a secondary House... Once word gets out that the House of Higurashi will be denounced, it will leave us vulnerable. Others may take this as a sign of weakness and strike." Inukimi told him softly, after a moment of watching her mate, she too sighed and tried to relax her posture to show submission. "Mate, I know that this is not something you want but you must think of the West. I am fond of Lord Ryou as well but we must do what is best for us. If Lord Nori wishes to become one with the West than we should let them. There are no laws against doing this, it just hasn't happened before." Inukimi finished and waited for her mate's reply. After a few minutes passed in silence, Inukimi finally got up and approached her mate. Delicately she wrapped her arms around her mate waist and rested her chin on his shoulder before speaking one last time.

"We can always create an alliance with Lord Ryou in return. He has a daughter, we have a son... Through mating we can make both our Clans stronger and no one would be stupid enough to cause a war with our territories combined." Touga gave out a soft snort before glancing at his mate. "Do you honestly believe that Sesshoumaru would mate a dragon?"

Inukimi hummed softly before replying. "He will do what he is told." This time Touga rolled his eyes at his mates wishful thinking but none the less, he knew she was right, the West had to come first. With a deep sigh Touga turned to look out the window again before losing himself in thought. 'Forgive me, Ryou but I have no choice.' He hoped that Ken'ichi would forgive him as well, because now... He didn't have a choice in the things that were to come.

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A loud knock echoed through the silent study, disturbing the Lord from his thoughts as he read the report in front of him. Violet eyes looked up at the door before looking down again at the message. "Enter." Lord Ryou growled out softly as he crumpled the scroll that was in his hand. Silently he watched as his best spy walked in and bowed before him. A couple of minutes passed in silence before Lord Ryou decided to break it.

"Is the report true?" His question was simple and straight to the point. He hoped that it wasn't but he wouldn't be completely surprised if it was. He watched as his General gave a small but curt nod before speaking.

"Yes, my Lord. Lord Nori has every intention to become one with the West. It is something that he has been planning to do for some months now. We believe he plans to announce this during the Tournament." General Shin said gravely as he continued to stare down at the floor, he refused to take the chance of looking up, not wanting to see the rage that he knew was written all over his Lords face. Lord Ryou's clenched his claws in anger, allowing sharp talons to pierce his palms to keep from lashing out. He should have known, Lord Nori was all about power, and the West was the most powerful of the four territories.

"What of the Higurashi boy?" Lord Ryou asked after taking a deep breath. General Shin sighed before daring a chance to look up at his Lord.

"Useless, my Lord. Rumor has it that Lord Touga plans to denounce the House completely in order to make room for the House of Takahashi."  
Lord Ryou unclenched his hands as he leaned back in thought. The boy maybe useless in summoning but he had the Higurashi's star stones... And what Lord Touga didn't know was that he, Lord Ryou, had the boy's sister. A small part of him felt bad for keeping his little bird, as he had nicknamed her, in the dark but in his defense he hadn't discovered her origins until five years ago. Touga had kept the Higurashi boy hidden the first five years after the fall of the Higurashi House in order to protect the boy since nobody knew who had attacked them. It wasn't until then that he had put two and two together. By that time he and his family had grown fond of Kagome and he selfishly didn't want to give her up. Now he was going to have a lot of explaining to do to his little bird... And he didn't look forward to it, she was a fiery little thing.

"My Lord, what would you have me do?" General Shin asked, breaking Ryou out of thought.

"Bring the Higurashi boy to me, be quick and silent about it. Tell him that his sister is still alive and make sure he brings his star stones." General Shin looked up in confusion. "My Lord? What use do we have of the boy?" Lord Ryou glared over at Shin for questioning him but decided to answer none the less.

"Let this one just say that the House of Higurashi hasn't completely fallen just yet." Lord Ryou watched as his General bowed low before getting back up to start his new mission. Lord Ryou let out another sigh before looking over at his window in thought. Before he could think anymore on the matter though, movement caught the corner of his eye. Focusing on the window, he waited a few moments before he saw a small black feathery head peek around to look back into his study.

Ryou closed his eyes before bringing his hands up to rub his face, a thing he did when he was under stress. Immediately he recognized the small black head and with a long sigh he got up and walked over to the window. Shuffling of feathers could be heard as the bird tried to back up and out of sight but before it could take off, Ryou quickly but gently grabbed him. Ryou looked down at the raven and saw three black beady eyes blinking up at him.

"Kagome, come to my study please... This one would like to explain what you heard." Lord Ryou said softly before leaning slightly out the window and released the raven. He watched silently as the somewhat large bird took flight and flew as fast as he could to his mistress.

* * *

On the other side of the Northern Shiro a lone girl sat in mediation on the floor of her bedroom. Pure white eyes stared off into nothing as she sat there stunned. It wasn't until she heard the ruffling of feathers that she finally broke out of her trance. With a quick blink of her eyes, white returned to blue and immediately those eyes began to tear up.

Silently Kagome looked over at her soul companion and with a heartbroken whisper she told him. "Yatagarasu... My brother is alive."

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 2**

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A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

* * *

 **(MYTHOLOGY FACTS)**

-Yatagarasu: is a three legged raven. (He doesn't have three eyes but I wanted him to in this story) He is said to be a symbol of guidance. - Japanese Mythology


	3. Going Westward

**Faith in the Stars, For Our Fate is in Your Hands**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

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A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews! They are all appreciated!

* * *

 **Original Characters**

*Lord Ryou- Lord of the North

*Ken'ichi Higurashi- Human lord of the West/ Head of the house of Higurashi

*Nori Takahashi- Human Lord of the North/ Head of the House of Takahashi

*Hinata Matsumoto- Head of the House of Matsumoto

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Going Westward**

* * *

Small steps echoed throughout the halls as Kagome made her way to her Lord's study. Her pace was slow but she hardly noticed since she was lost in thought. Her brother was alive... She had thought that she was the only one left. She had heard others talking about the fall of her great House and heard them say that there was no one left. Of course they didn't know about her true origins, she had decided to keep that to herself for the time being, but she was surprised that she had heard nothing of her brother's survival until now. So many questions ran rampant through her head. How long has Lord Ryou known of her origins... And why hadn't he said anything? Granted, she had planned to tell him of her true origins before the next tournament but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. She wanted his permission to leave and travel, she wanted to find answers to what had happened that night 10 years ago and she figured that he would grant this request once he knew who she really was, but now everything had changed... Her brother was alive and he had the family's star stones.

Kagome came to a sudden stop as she finally reached the door to her Lord's study. Taking a few minutes, she just stared at it. The ruffling of feathers brought her out of thought as she looked to her right. Yatagarasu sat perched on her right shoulder as he stared at her in confusion. His small black head tilted slightly and 3 black beady eyes blinked down at her. Ruffling his feathers again, Yatagarasu squawked and shook his head before looking back down. Kagome gave a small smile before she relaxed her shoulders. She may not be able to understand him, and for some reason he could understand her perfectly, but what she could do was detect his moods through his aura. Her agitation was effecting him, so she decided to relax her posture. Finally once she was completely relaxed, Kagome lifted her hand to knock on the door. The only way her questions were going to get answered is if she asked her Lord, and she had every intention of doing just that. It was a moment later when she heard Lord Ryou tell her to enter. Taking a deep breath, Kagome opened the door and walked into the study.

Looking around the large room, Kagome took notice that her lord wasn't behind his desk, it wasn't until she looked to her left that she noticed Lord Ryou and Lady Kasumi were sitting at a small table in the corner of the room drinking tea. From the smell of it, it was Chrysanthem tea. Slowly she began to walk forward, keeping her eyes faced downward. Her fingers intertwined with each other in a nervous manner as she lost herself in thought, trying to get her thoughts in order.

Lord Ryou noticed her odd behavior and sighed, they had much to discuss and apparently neither of them knew how to start. Clearing his throat, Lord Ryou quickly decided a course of action and spoke. "Please sit Kagome."

Slowly Kagome made her way to the table before picking a plush cushion and sat down, she noticed offhandedly that a cup of tea was already poured for her. Debating for a few moments, she then decided to pick it up to take a drink. After taking a small sip, she placed it back down before looking over at Lady Kasumi. Her soft pink hair was put up into an elegant bun, a purple wisteria kanzashi was placed on the left side. She wore a deep violet Kimono that had a golden wisteria tree stitched into it, the obi she wore was silver in color and elegantly tied. Her bright red eyes looked deeply into her own, Kagome could see the concern that was there... The concern that was for her.

"How are you doing my dear?" Lady Kasumi's soft voiced rang out.

Kagome sighed before she spoke, her voice coming out just as soft. "I'm fine... I want to see my brother." Kagome watched as Kasumi looked over at her mate with a worried look before she shifted uncomfortably.

"You will Kagome, I promise." Lord Ryou told her gently. A tense silence over took the room, no one was sure how to approach the subject that needed to be addressed.

A few minutes passed before Kagome finally sighed, her body slumped forward as she rested her elbows on the table and put her head in her hands, holding her head up as she looked over at the two that sat before her. "How long have you two known?"

Lord Ryou let out a sigh of his own and Lady Kasumi looked down at her tea cup with guilty sadness. After a moment of thought, Lord Ryou spoke. "5 years... I figured it out after Lord Touga made the announcement about your brother being alive."

Kagome's eyes widened in shock for a moment before they narrowed into a heated glare. "You knew my brother was alive for 5 years and you never told me! Why?! Why would you keep that from me?!"

"For your safety Kagome-" Lord Ryou began before being cut off by his mate.

"We didn't want to lose you." Lady Kasumi blurted out as her clawed hand reached out to grab Kagome's. Kagome could tell that Lady Kasumi seemed frightened at the thought and allowed her to hold her hand for comfort, more for Kasumi's sake than her own.

Lord Ryou sighed again as he looked over at his distraught mate before he continued. "It was for your own safety Kagome. For 5 years Lord Touga kept your brother a secret from everyone. I knew their had to be a good reason for this. If the ones that attacked your family would have known of his survival, then they might have tried to attack him while he was weak. Knowing this, I decided to keep you a secret as well."

"We would have lost you... They would have taken you away." Lady Kasumi added with a sorrowful heart. "Just like we will now."

Kagome and Lord Ryou looked over at Lady Kasumi with confusion before Lord Ryou gave a slight shake of his head and spoke again. "Mate, we are not losing Kagome..."

Kagome tilted her head slightly in confusion before voicing her question. "Lady mother, who will take me away?"

Lady Kasumi sniffed and clutched Kagome's hand tighter before answering. "Lord Touga will... Once he knows you're alive, he will take you away. You belong to one of his Houses. He will demand that we hand you over."

Kagome let out a small laugh before a smile broke her lips. "Lady mother, I'm not going to leave you. I promise. If I have too then I will simple explain to Lord Touga that I wish to stay here."

"It's not that simple Kagome, you are the heir to your father's House. Now that your brother has proven that he can not summon your family's star stones, that leaves you the heir because you can." Lord Ryou explained with a purposeful glance at Yatagarasu. All three stared at the large black Raven as he blissfully ignored them to eat out of the fruit bowl that was setting on the table.

"What do you mean? I'm sure my brother can summon the star stones. Raiju always seemed to favor my brother when we were younger. I remember hearing my father say that he wouldn't be surprised if Raiju would be his soul companion when he got older. Souta's reiki is just as powerful as my own, so I don't understand why he wouldn't be able to summon them." Kagome stated with slight confusion.

"There is a lot more to it than that, Kagome. Only one child will be chosen from each House to lead it. Your brother maybe just as powerful as you but you were blessed by the God's to wield their stars, which makes you the heir to your House." Lady Kasumi further explained.

"But it's not impossible, right? What if Souta can summon the star stones? Then what?" Kagome asked as she looked between the two. Lord Ryou never saw fit for her to go to the local summoner school like the other children with the same gift as her since she only had one star stone, so there was a great deal that she didn't know about. Perhaps she should go to his library and do some research on it.

Lord Ryou raised an eyebrow but gave the question a moment of thought before he answered. "Well I suppose it's not impossible but it has never happened before. So I am unclear as to what would happen. But Kagome, you must understand, your brother has been groomed to take your father's place for the last 10 years. I'm sure Lord Touga has tried everything he could to get your brother to summon those star stones and nothing has worked."

Kagome pursed her lips into a frown. Despite what Lord Ryou said, she was sure that they were wrong. She couldn't fully explain how she knew this but something inside her told her otherwise. Souta could summon, she was sure of it... Maybe he just didn't know how. After a moment, another thought struck her, and it was with slight worry and hesitation that she asked her next question. "Since my brother can't summon the star stones, what is going to happen to him now? You said that Lord Touga knows nothing about me, and I remember you mentioning something about a denouncement to General Shin... My brother isn't in any danger is he?"

Lord Ryou sighed as he ran his hand through his long locks. "No, your brother isn't in any kind of danger. Your House is being denounce by the West, this means that your House will no longer have any kind of power in the Summoning community in the Western lands. Since it is believed that your brother is the last of his line and he can't summon his star stones, more than likely Lord Touga will seize your family's star stones to ensure that they are kept safe. But Lord Touga held great respect for your father so it is unlikely that Souta will be thrown out on the streets. Touga is an honorable youkai, he will ensure that your brother is well taken care of."

Kagome glanced down as she thought over what she was told. She remembered only meeting Lord Touga once and that was at the last tournament. While her brother and herself were not allowed to watch the tournament, their father had decided to officially introduce them to Lord Touga after he won the Tournament. She recalled his long moon spun hair and his bright golden eyes. He was tall, taller than anyone she had ever seen before... She remembered that she didn't even reach his hips. The thing she remembered most about him though was that fluffy pelt he wore, she really really liked to snuggle with it... As well as the gentle smile he had when she finally mustered up the courage to do so. Kagome let out a small sigh, she knew Lord Ryou was right, Lord Touga would do everything he could to take care of her brother. Her brows furrowed again as another thought struck her... If that was the case, then why did Lord Ryou want to get her brother away from the Inu Lord to begin with? Looking back over at her Lord, Kagome studied him for a long minute before she voiced her question. "Why are you sending General Shin to get my brother if he isn't in danger?"

Lord Ryou took a sip of his tea as he contemplated about something. Once he made his decision, he spoke. "I have sent for your brother for two reasons... The first reason is because I know you will want him by your side. The second reason is because you will _need_ him by your side. Like I said previously, your brother has been groomed for ruling... You have not. Now that your the heir, you will need to learn how to rule and your brother will help you with that."

Kagome gave Lord Ryou an odd look and tilted her head slightly. "I thought our House was being denounce? What does it matter if that happens?"

"Your House is being denounced by the West, and once that happens I will be announcing your House as one of my own." Lord Ryou told her with a searching gaze, waiting to see what her reaction would be.

Kagome's eyes widened in shock, her mouth left a gap. It took her a good minute before she collected herself enough to speak again. "But you already have a ruling House and a secondary... I'm sure that the other Lords will not allow you to have a third House."

Lord Ryou nodded to her in affirmative before he began to tell her of his plans. "Your right but I have no intention of adding a third House. I plan to make your House my ruling House, the ruling House of the North."

"But what about the House of Takahashi? Lord Nori will throw a fit if that happens." Kagome asked in total bewilderment. She only met the Ice Lord once and the impression he left still sent chills down her spine. His heir was no different, Lady Izumi was just as cold as her father. She recently heard rumors about her taking her father's place this year in the Tournament. Actually, She heard that almost all the powerful Houses Heirs were competing this year. All the ruling Lords are starting to step down now that they have hit their receding age. Typically a Lord will only be able to compete in 3 maybe 4 Tournaments before their power begins to recede, which then forces them to descend from the throne.

"Lord Nori has recently decided to switch territories. Once Lord Touga denounces your House, he plans to announce the House of Takahashi into his territory. Lady Izumi will then compete against your cousin Lady Kikyo for the rights to rule the West." Lord Ryou told Kagome as he leaned back and crossed his arms, it was only a moment later when a smirk appeared on his lips. "Once everything is officially announced, I will make an announcement of my own. I will introduce your House as mine and then you will compete against Lady Manami from the House of Yamasaki for the rights to rule the North."

Kagome sat in stunned silence... She didn't know what to say. This changed everything, all the plans she had now laid in ruins. So many thoughts were spinning around in her head, she couldn't seem to grab a hold of any one of them longer than a few seconds before it would flee, only to be replaced by another.

Lord Ryou noticed her distracted behavior and cleared his throat to try and gain her attention before he spoke. "Have no worries Kagome, your brother will be here in a couple of weeks. I promise you, everything will work itself out." He watched as Kagome nodded her head absentmindedly before he let out a sigh, he supposed that everything he just told her was a lot to take in. "Perhaps, you should rest. We can further discuss this during dinner tonight. That will give you time to think and I will answer any questions you might have."

Kagome snapped herself out of thought before she nodded. Looking around in a daze, Kagome slowly stood up before she turned to her lord and lady, then gave a bow. Once she straightened, she waited a few seconds to let Yatagarasu fly up and perch himself on her shoulder before she made her way out the door. As she slowly made her way down the hall towards her room, she continued to think about her brother. She couldn't help but wonder what he was like now... How tall was he? Did he still have his little odd quirks like when they were younger? He always had a habit of drinking all his milk before eating his dinner, or how he would rub his left earlobe when he was nervous. A small smile cracked her lips as she continued to delve further into her memories. She could always tell when he was lying because he would scratch the back of his head before he told the lie. Although she was sure that he stopped checking his closet every night for monsters before he went to bed but the thought of it cause her to giggle. Her smile soon faded as another more somber thought struck her... It had been so long since they last saw each other, would he even recognize her? The thought caused her to stop walking completely and as she stood there as another more frightful thought entered her mind... Would he be mad now that she was the heir to their House? It was something he had worked so hard for and now she was about to take it away from him. Not purposely of course but still, the thought that he would caused her eyes to mist.

Kagome took a long deep breath as she tried to get a hold of her emotion. Giving her head a firm shake, Kagome thought for a few minutes longer before she made a decision. She needed to see her brother... And she refused to wait any longer than what she had too. Her eyes narrowed with determination as she began to walk forward, she wasn't going to wait. She was going to go get her brother herself. Kagome's strides turned swift as she marched to her room. Once she entered, she immediately went to work. Going to her closet, Kagome grabbed her long black cloak and tied it around her neck before pulling her hood up. Next she grabbed her leather satchel and started to shove everything she needed for her upcoming trip into it. Once she was done she whispered to Yatagarasu. "Prepare for flight Yata, were leaving."

Kagome watched as Yatagarasu jumped off her shoulder and glided to the floor. He gave about five hops as he made his way to her balcony and once he was outside, bright red fire consumed him. When the flames died down she saw that his size grew 10x bigger, just big enough to fit 2 people on his back. Kagome let a soft smile grace her lips as she began to walk towards him. Just as she reached the doorway to the balcony, she paused. She almost forgot, quickly Kagome turned around and made her way towards her desk. Opening the third drawer on the right, she pulled out her father's leather journal and stuffed it in her bag before making her way back to Yatagarasu. As she approached him, she watched as he lowered himself so she could get on and once she was secure, she whispered to him. "Lets go Yata, we head Westward."

With a nod of his head, Yatagarasu flexed his giant obsidian wings and took flight. The faster he flew the more the excitement began to course through her body. It was time to bring her brother home.

* * *

Souta shifted uncomfortablely as he stood next to Lord Touga outside in the courtyard. Everyone in the Western Shiro was bustling about as they all prepared for the new guests that were making their way here. Souta was nervous, but he was doing everything in his power to not let it show. It had been 5 years since he last saw his Aunt Hinata, and now she was on her way here along with his cousin Kikyo. Lord Touga had invited them here to discuss his House's denouncement, as well as the upcoming announcement of the rise of their House.

One week from today, Lord Touga will make his announcement and a celebration will be held in honor of the House of Matsumoto and he... Well he will slowly fade into the background. Lord Touga explained to him that in honor for all that his family had done and the loyalty that his father had always showed for the West, Lord Touga was going to give Souta one of his smaller estates to live out the rest of his life in luxury. He will never want for anything, he even talked about looking into finding a suitable wife for him as well... Although that didn't interest him in the slightest. Souta knew he should be greatful, most youkai Lords would care less to whatever happened to the fate of their fallen House's. He couldn't help but feel slightly bitter, perhaps everyone was right... Maybe his House was cursed. Perhaps this was punishment for all the destruction his mother's late House had caused. His grandfather, Takemaru of the House of Setsuna, had lost himself to madness due to one of his star stones and because of it, he left nothing but fire, death and destruction behind before he died. Most believe that it is because of this that so much ill has happened to his family.

The sound of horse hooves approaching snapped Souta out of thought and caused him to look up at the entrance of the courtyard. Two horses that were attached to a black carriage made their way over to where he and his Lord were standing. He watched as they slowly came to a stop and Souta straightened before running his hands over his clothes to smooth the wrinkles. A few minutes passed before they watched as the carriage door opened abd a small dainty slippered foot appeared before Souta saw his Aunt step out.

She was dressed in a royal violet and black kimono, her onyx locks were put up into an elegant bun. He watched as her dark brown, almost black eyes searched her surrounding before finding him and his Lord. Hinata stepped forward before giving them a small bow. Both he and Lord Touga gave a customary bow back before watching her step aside. Next to step out was his eldest cousin, Kikyo. She was dress in a Miko garb that were colored in the Matsumoto's celestial colors. Her hakamas were black as night and her haori was a rich violet. On the right sleeves of her haori was a large white design of a wolf, which was the emblem of the Matsumoto's celestial beast. Her dark brown eyes scanned her surrounding before landing on him. They stared at each other for a few minutes before she looked back over at her mother. Souta watched with wide eyes as three serpentine like creatures flew around his cousin's figure... The Shinidamachu. He had heard many rumors about them. From what he understood was that Kikyo's Soul companion were soul collectors and the thought made him shudder. Movement caught his eye, forcing him to look down at the third person of the party. His youngest cousin, Keade, was standing behind her sister as she clutched Kikyo's pant leg. He could tell that the small 10 year old girl was slightly frightened to be in such a new environment.

"Welcome, the House of Matsumoto, the West is glad you made it safely." Lord Touga's voice boomed out, snapping everyone to attention.

"Thank you my Lord... The House of Matsumoto is happy to be here." Lady Hinata said in a customary reply.

"Forgive this one for the absence of my mate and children. Lady Inukimi is currently seeing to your chambers and my sons are currently destroying my dojo. But if you would be so kind as to follow this one, I will show you to your chambers so you may settle. This one is sure that you are tired from such a long journey." Lord Touga continued before he swept his arm out in a gracious manner, giving a indication that he wanted the family to follow.

"Yes, thank you my Lord. We would most definitely would like some rest before supper." Lady Hinata bowed in graditude before the family began to follow him.

Souta lingered back as he watched them all head towards the Shiro. He lost himself in thought for a moment before a voice snapped him out of it.

"Souta!" A light vibrant voice called out and he looked over his shoulder. A girl, who was a year younger than him was seen racing towards him with excited energy. She was clad in a orange and white kimono, her rich chocolate brown hair was pulled up into a bun, but what had him most capitivated was her cinnamon colored eyes.

"Good evening Rin." He called out once he cleared his throat. The girl in question beamed a bright smile before she latched herself to his right arm, which caused a light blush to dust his cheeks.

"Come on Souta, your going to miss it. My brothers are fighting in the dojo again. Let's go watch." Rin said with a giggle as she began to drag him away.

The blush on Souta's cheeks grew deeper as Rin grabbed him by the hand. Clearing his throat again, Souta spoke to try and distract himself. "Oh? Who's winning?"

Rin turned to look over her shoulder and shot Souta with another bright smile before answering." Sesshoumaru of course."

Souta absentmindedly nodded his head, he was more than happy to let Rin distract him from his gloomy thoughts, so he gave no resistance as she drug him towards the dojo.

 **END OF CHAPTER 3**

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A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

* * *

 **(MYTHOLOGY FACTS)**

Shinidamachu- they are serpentine like youkai that will collect the souls of the dead. -Japanese mythology


	4. The Heart of the West

**Faith in the Stars, For Our Fate is in Your Hands**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

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A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews! They are all appreciated! Ok, so I originally was going to wait to post this until I had the next chapter done for ATOS&S but I am still a little behind on that at the moment. So I figured I will just go ahead and post this so that way my readers have something to read until then. I have been having good creative flow for this story and have been working on it and that why my other story is taking a little longer to write but the next chapter for ATOS&S should be up by the end of the week. Until then, I hope you all enjoy the chapter. Feel free to review and let me know what you think! :)

* * *

 **Original Characters**

*Lord Ryou- Lord of the North

*Lady Kasumi- Lady of the North, Lord Ryou's mate

*Ken'ichi Higurashi- Human lord of the West/ Head of the house of Higurashi

*Nori Takahashi- Human Lord of the North/ Head of the House of Takahashi

*Hinata Matsumoto- Head of the House of Matsumoto

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Heart of the West  
**

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The sounds of a bustling town reached Kagome's ears as she slowly made her way toward the main entrance of what most people called the Heart of the West. The dirt road that she was currently following was crowded, mostly by merchants and farmers that were carting their wares into the large town. Off in the distance she could see a large stone wall that surrounded the western Shiro. The Shiro itself was large, larger than the Northern Shiro. Of course it was hard to tell since the Northern Shiro was partly built into a mountain side, high up off the ground.

So consumed in her current admiration of the beautiful building, Kagome was slightly taken by surprise when she stumbled into solid figure. Looking over, Kagome realized that she had accidentally ran into a young woman who looked to be close in age to herself. "I'm sorry, are you ok?" Kagome asked as she bent down to help the woman pick up all the dried herbs that fell out of the basket she was carrying.

The young woman picked up the last bundle of herbs before she straightened herself and looked at Kagome. "Yes I'm fine, no harm done."

Kagome gave out a sigh of relief before she sent the woman a smile. Looking over the woman's figure, she could tell that she was a miko like herself by the garbs that she wore, her white haori and red hakamas displayed that she was a miko of the West. What took her by surprise though was the small human like figure that stood on the woman's shoulder. The small being was only maybe 6 inches tall and had a set of small wings attached to her back. She could tell that it was female and when it leaped from the woman's shoulder to fly around, it glowed a bright blue in color. That was when it clicked for Kagome, that thing was the miko's soul companion. If Kagome had to take a guess, the woman's companion looked like a Yosei... But she couldn't be sure since she had never seen one before, all she knew about them was from what she has read about.

Watching the small fairy fly around her, Kagome let out a giggle as the little thing began to investigate Yatagarasu, which caused him to ruffle his feathers in irritation. Looking closer, Kagome studied the small creature by using a small tendril of her reiki. The power of the companion wasn't very strong, if she had to guess she would say that the fairy was a rank 1 star stone. Each star stone fell into a ranking system that depended on their level of power, a rank 1 being the lowest and a rank 5 being the highest. Her own soul companion was a rank 2, her House didn't have any star stones that were lower than that. Looking back over at the woman, Kagome couldn't see a sigil of any kind so the woman's House was probably a lesser one. It wasn't uncommon to come across small houses that had maybe one or two star stones, all of lower ranks.

"You have a good heart." The woman told Kagome with a smile as the fairy started to glow a golden color.

Kagome looked over at the woman a gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"She can see into people's hearts... She will glow gold if the person is of good nature or a deep red if the person is not." The woman further explained and Kagome's smile grew bigger as she watched the fairy fly over to her mistress's shoulder. It was only a moment later when the woman stepped up to her and very hesitantly lifted her hand up to pet Yatagarasu. Kagome stiffened slightly but soon relaxed. It was unusual to let a stranger be so familiar with your soul companion since you could never know for sure if that stranger will try and hurt them. When a soul companion is first summoned, they attach apart of themselves to that person's soul which allows them to be by your side without being forced back into their stone. The downside to this connection is that if you are hurt then so are they and vise versa. So a companion is to be protected at all costs. But with this woman Kagome knew she could relax .The woman trusted her so Kagome decided to do the same... Plus, she highly doubted that the woman's companion would be a Yosei if she had harmful intentions.

"He is beautiful." The woman whispered and Kagome gave a nod before she smiled. Both women laughed as Yatagarasu's chest puffed out in pride before he ruffled his feathers again.

"He sure is, your companion is as well. Is she a Yosei?" Kagome asked as she watched the woman step back. The people around them had started to push pass them as they rushed to get into town. Both females noticed that they were holding up the foot traffic and decided to walk beside each other as they too made their way towards the town's entrance.

The woman laughed before giving Kagome a nod. "Yes, she is. I am surprised that you guessed it right on the first try. Most mistaken her for a Koro-pok-guru." The woman told her with a bright smile. " My name is Ayumi by the way."

"Mine is Kag-" Kagome started before she abruptly stopped. Perhaps it wouldn't be a smart idea to give out her real name. She doubted that anyone would put two and two together but she didn't want to take the chance. "You can call me Kags."

Ayumi gave Kagome an odd look but slowly nodded. Kagome only shrugged before laughing. "It's a nickname."

"So, are you here for the festivities tonight? I don't recall seeing you around here before." Ayumi asked as they approached the entrance.

"Festivities?" Kagome asked as she looked around. As far as she knew there were no major celestial celebrations coming up, at least not for another 2 moon cycles but as she looked around she noticed that everyone seemed to be decorating for something.

"Yeah, Lord Touga is holding a celebration to welcome the House of Matsumoto. Everyone is coming from all over the Western territory to welcome Lady Kikyo as a new candidate to be the next ruling lady. Rumor has it that she will competing for the throne." Ayumi told Kagome, a little surprised that she didn't already know.

"Lord Touga has already announced the Higurashi's denouncement?" Kagome asked in shock surprise. She had thought that he wouldn't do so until the tournament. She couldn't help but wonder why he announced it 2 weeks early.

Ayumi looked over at Kagome, slightly shocked that she already knew about it but decided to ignore it and answer her question. "My cousins, Eri and Yuka, work in the Shiro and they told me last night that he announced to the nobles that the Higurashi heir was stepping down. They told me that he will tell the public about it today before the festivities start. How did you find out?"

Kagome scratched the back of her head as she thought up a lie. "The same way as you, I got a friend in the Shiro. That's why I am here, to visit him."

Slowly the two women came to a stop as they passed through the entrance. Ayumi cleared her throat before she spoke, grabbing Kagome's attention. "Well, this is where we must part Kags. I am needed at the Celestial Temple to help with preparations. Are you going to be able to find your way to your friend?"

Kagome gave Ayumi a small smile as she nodded. "Yes, I should be find. Thank you Ayumi for keeping me company. It was a pleasure to meet you."

Ayumi smile back as she gave Kagome a wave. "Perhaps we will see each other at the festivities."

Kagome paused for a moment before letting a tight smile stretch her lips. "Yea... I'll look for you." Kagome said nervously, even though she had no intentions of staying. Once she found her brother she had every intention of leaving immediately. It had taken her a full week to get here so she knew that it would take another week to get back and that didn't leave her much time to try and help her brother. Plus, she wanted to make a small detour.

On the way here, she had come across her old home. The ruin shrine looked so different than what she remembered. She hadn't stopped, just looked at it from a distance but she had every intention off stopping there once she left this place... She had something important to find. She had been able to crack some of her father's cyphers and they kept mentioning a place that was located at the shrine, a place that she needed to find. She hoped that once she did, she will then be able to find something to help her crack his other cyphers that were left in his journal. Kagome had come to discover that her father had many secrets, secrets that he hid well. His journal was filled with all sorts of cyphers. As a little girl, the one thing she could always remember was her father's puzzles. Every time her father came home he would always bring gifts but the only way her and Souta would get these gifts was if they could solve the puzzle that came with it. Now she was starting to understand why... He was preparing them for something and the only way they would be able to figure out what that something was is by solving his journal... And Kagome had every intention of doing just that.

Giving a small wave to Ayumi, Kagome watched as the miko waved back before she turned around and headed up the beaten path that lead to the town's Celestial Temple. The temple was where all the summoners went to learn about their gifts. Every major town had one and a lot of times the summoners of smaller villages had to travel to the nearest major town in order to learn. Typically a child that was blessed with the power to summon the star stones was sent to study at a Celestial Temple when they reached the age of 14 or 15. Normally they would study there for about 4 or 5 years before they were ready to take control over their House. Kagome did not learn from one of these Temples though, the Northern town that was below the Northern Shiro did have a temple like all the other major towns but Lord Ryou didn't want her to learn there with the rest of her peers. So instead, Kagome had a private tutor that help her once it became apparent that she carried the celestial gift, but since she only had one star stone her tutor only taught her the basics. Lord Ryou was quite shocked the day that she successfully summoned Yatagarasu. It happened shortly after her 12th birthday, which was one of the reasons her Lord was so surprised. Technically Kagome was the youngest summoner that was able to summon their soul companion. The fact that it was around the same time when he would have found out about her true origins as well might have played a big part in his shocked reaction too, now that Kagome thought about it.

Taking a deep breath, Kagome relaxed before she looked around. Debating for a few minutes, she finally decided on a path before she began to walk forward again. Slowly she made her way through the crowded streets as she continued to walk towards the Shiro. It took her about a good 30 minutes before she finally reached the large stone wall that separated her from the beautiful Shiro that her brother was currently in. She was so close, excitement began to course through her at the thought of soon being reunited with her long lost sibling. There was only one problem that now obstructed her current goal... Western soldiers. There was about ten of them that guarded the entrance and they weren't just letting anyone through those gates. A grim expression crossed her face as she thought about how to get through. It only took a moment for a plan to develop though... She quickly realized that she didn't actually need to go inside to find her brother, she will just have to lure him out.

With that thought in mind, Kagome turned around and walked for about 10 minutes before turning down an empty alley. She walked further into the alley before she found a good spot to sit down, but before she did that she looked over to her right shoulder and spoke to Yatagarasu. "It's time to hunt Yata... I need you to find my brother and lead him to me. Make sure he has the star stones." Kagome let a smile cross her lips when she heard Yatagarasu caw in response before he unfolded his onyx wings and took off. She watched as he circled around her once before he took off towards the Shiro. After about a minute had passed, Kagome turned and sat down. Taking a deep breath, Kagome slowly let it out as she closed her eyes... And when she finally reopened them her eyes went pure white.

* * *

Two male figures slowly walked down the crowded main hall of the Western Shiro, one male walked quietly but the other male was rather loud and animated as he spoke. "I'm telling you Souta, she's the one! She is perfect in every way... And, I think I'm gonna asked my father for permission to mate her."

Souta gave his companion a dead pan look before he spoke to his clearly delusional friend. "Inuyasha, you realize that you can't mate her right? You know that is not aloud... And even if you could, what makes you think that she would agree? She barely gives you the time of day."

"Keh, she will warm up to me. Once she does, I'm sure she will agree." Inuyasha told Souta with a cocky grin as he lifted his arms up to lock his fingers together behind his head as they continued to walk.

Souta rolled his eyes, he really didn't know what his friend even saw in his cousin. Granted he really didn't know her all that well but every time he was around her she was always cold and emotionless. He didn't know who was more stoic, Kikyo or Sesshoumaru... At least Master Sesshoumaru showed anger every once in awhile, which was more than what he ever saw from his older cousin. "Whatever makes you happy my friend, but I'm curious on how you are going to bring this up with your father. You know the other Daiyoukai will not allow this union, and I doubt that the Order of Oracles are going to allow Kikyo to follow through as well. They will push her to marry a powerful monk." The Order of Oracles were a group of wise summoners that had once ruled over the humans. Sometimes a summoner will gain enough power that his or her lifespan will extend past what a normal human ever could and after this summoner would step down from his or her throne, they would join the Order of Oracles. They were considered the wisest of all the humans and even the Lords and Ladies would have to concede to their laws out of respect. While their life span couldn't compare to that of a youkai, they still could reach a pretty old age. The oldest on the council was 356 and he was still going strong.

"Keh, I would like to see them try! I'll fight for her if I have to... I'm not going to let some stuffy Lords and a group of old coots stop me from having the woman I want." Inuyasha scoffed as he looked over at Souta. "Besides if it comes down to that than I'll just take her to the main land and we can live out our lives there."

Souta nodded, he supposed that Inuyasha could do that but he highly doubt that Kikyo would leave, she would not shrink in her duties and in order for them to be together than she would have to step down and he knew his cousin would never do so even if she wanted to. Daiyoukai and Heirs of the great Houses were not allowed to be together, that was the law on both sides. Inuyasha was born out of a very rare circumstance. About 250 years ago their country went into war with China. The Chinese Emperor had sent an army of summoners to invade their lands which in turn forced all the Lords, youkai and human alike, to come together and fight them back. Eventually a truce was made and to seal the deal, the Chinese Emperor demanded that Lord Touga marry his eldest daughter, Lady Izayoi. It wasn't long before Inuyasha was born but since Lady Izayoi was never Touga's mate, she died when he was still very young. So not only was Inuyasha the prince of Western Japan but he was also the Prince of China. It was also because of these invasions that had taken place over the years that their people ended up with all these mysterious star stones that came from so many foreign lands.

Soon the two friends came to a slow stop as Inuyasha paused to look over at Souta. "Well I gotta go meet up with Rin, she's gonna help me pick out a gift for Kikyo. I'll talk to ya at supper ok." Inuyasha stated as he scratched the back of his head.

Souta gave a nod of understanding. "Alright Inuyasha, best of luck on your gift hunt. I'm sure Lady Rin will be a big help. I have to go talk to Lord Touga about my upcoming living arrangements anyway."

"Hey no worries alright, my father will take care of ya... And I'm sure we will see each other all the time." Inuyasha said with a goofy smile, which in turn brought a small smile to Souta's lips and he nodded.

"Thank you Inuyasha, I would like that." Souta said with a wave as he watched his friend wave back before he walk away. With a deep sigh, Souta turned and began to head towards Lord Touga's study. Honestly, he was worried. Truth be told, he really didn't want to leave the Shiro. The people here long ago filled that hole in his heart that still yearned for his family, well not the whole hole but as much of it as he allowed. Now, he was suppose to just up and leave, how was he going to just let everything he has come to know slip away? With another sad sigh, Souta continued onward.

Slowly the people traffic began to wane as he got closer to his Lord's study, off in the distance he could hear someone talking. As he reached the study's door, he realized that his Lord must have a guest. With this realization, Souta began to step away but a piece of the conversation filtered through and made him pause. Leaning a little closer, Souta strained his hearing to try and listen. Normally, he would never ease drop like this but he had to make sure that he heard right.

 _"I understand your hesitation my Lord, but I beg you to look at it from my point of view. My nephew can not summon the Higurashi's star stones, and being a Higurashi myself, my daughter is the only one that can now do so. I may not have the gift but I am still a Higurashi, their for, the Higurashi's star stones should be passed over to me so that way I can pass them down to my daughter."_

Souta's eyes widened in disbelief as his Aunt's voice rung out loud and clear and Souta was realized that he was lucky that he remembered to mask his reiki before approaching the study. He was sure the conversation would have stopped if they had sensed him coming.

 _"Lady Hinata, I do understand. But even though Souta can not summon them, any children he has might be able to. So I can not demand him to hand them over to you." Lord Touga stated gruffly._

Souta let out a small sigh of relief, at least his Lord was on his side. His family star stones were the only things he had left of his family and he will fight tooth and nail to keep them.

 _"He would still have the Setsuna star stones to pass down, my Lord. I only want what's rightfully mine."_

A big sigh could be heard and Souta pressed his ear closer to the door in anticipation.

 _"I'm sorry Lady Hinata, I can not force the boy to do this."_

 _"With all do respect my Lord, you do not have to force him to do anything because my nephew does not have a choice in the matter... The Order of Oracle's agree with me and now they demand it. Since he can not summon them, they would rather the star stones be pass to me due to safety reasons. They do not wish for the stones to fall into the wrong hands."_

Souta felt like the air had been knocked right out of him. He waited with baited breath for his Lord's response.

 _"You already spoke to the Order?"_

The sound of rustling silk could be heard but Souta couldn't tell who it was coming from, the sound of paper unrolling soon followed then there was a long silent pause. He prayed that his Lord would deny her again. Surely they couldn't make him do this, he could protect his family star stones just fine... They didn't need to be handed off to his Aunt, his Lord had to know this. Another minute passed before Souta heard the answer that he dreaded to hear.

 _"Very well... I'll explain this to Souta after the festivities tonight."_

Souta felt his heart stop... Lord Touga was going to make him hand over his star stones. Taking a step back, Souta clinched his hands in anger. First his Aunt takes his throne and now she wants to take his star stones as well?! His bright blue eye darkened as rage began to take over. He had always done everything that was asked of him without question, and he only ever failed at one, but this... This was asking too much and he wasn't going to let them have it. His star stones were all he had left of his family, they can call him selfish if they wish but he will be damned if he let them take what was his without a fight. With that thought in mind, Souta turned and began to walk down the hall. He had to leave ... If he wanted to keep his star stones then he had no choice but to go. The only question was where? He had no one left. With a shake of his head, Souta realized that it didn't matter. He will figure it out as he goes, but first he will have to gather his belongings.

It was with clear resolve and determination that now drove him forward. His steps soon began to hasten as he almost ran to his chambers. It didn't take long for him to reach his destination due to his swift pace. Opening his door, Souta didn't even both to close it as he set out to gather everything he needed. Grabbing his rarely used satchel, he ran from one corner of his room to another, throwing all he grabbed into the bag and when he was finally done, he took notice of how heavy it became but he hardly cared. Next he grabbed his his katana and placed in his obi before turning around. Just as he was about to walk out his door for the final time, he paused as he realized that he almost forgot the most important thing, his star stones. But when he turned around, Souta became startled at what he saw before him. Sitting on the window sill right in front of his desk was a big black Raven. Souta's brows crinkled as he studied the larger than normal bird. For a moment he wondered how long it had been sitting there as he slowly took a step forward. As he got closer, Souta noticed that something was off about the bird. His eyes widened as he noticed that instead of two eyes it had three. Two brown almost black, and the third one was a bright blue. It only took Souta a moment to realize that this bird was actually a celestial beast... A low level one but one none the less. It was with new caution that Souta began his approach, slowly Souta's eyes looked away from the bird to glance at the bag of star stones that sat on his desk, right before the raven. Lifting his eyes again he tensed as the bird eyes looked down at what had grabbed Souta's attention.

Yatagarasu ruffled his feathers as he took noticed of the small bag. Tilting his head slight to the left, he zeroed in on the bag and he could feel the power of the star stones radiate from the small pouch. Yatagarasu wasn't the only one that realized what that small bag was either and it was only a minute later when he heard his mistress's voice ring through his mind. _'Yata, grab the pouch and bring it to me... My brother will follow.'_ Yatagarasu perked up and ruffled his feathers again before looking back up at his Mistress's brother, who was currently making his way towards him in a very slow pace. The two locked eyes briefly before Yatagarasu swiftly took off, using his claws to grab the pouch before flying above the young man and out the door.

Souta saw the raven move before he too lunged for the bag, but he was too slow. His breath hitched as the big bird flew over his head and out the door. Cursing lowly under his breath, Souta bolted towards the door to follow in pursuit. Rushing down the hall, he did his best to dodge the servants as he ran after the thief. Making sure to keep his eyes on the bird, Souta did his best to keep up but it was proving to be harder than he anticipated... And it only got harder when Souta saw the raven take a sharp right and flew down the stairs. The moment he reached the steps, he quickly he raced down half the steps before he bolted over the rail, landing with a hard thud and amazingly enough that still didn't hamper his speed. Looking back up, he searched for the bird and it only took him a moment to find him right before the damn thing flew out an open door as two servants came in from outside. Letting another curse slip from his lips, Souta pushed himself faster.

"Move!" Souta shouted as he made a waving motion towards the two females and he just barely missed knocking them over as he ran out the door. Their startled screams drew attention towards him and Souta let out a sigh, he had really hoped to leave this place unnoticed but it looks like it's too late for that now. Looking around for the raven again, Souta noticed that the damn bird was flying higher now and when he looked forward he saw that they were almost to the Shiro's wall. Without further thought, Souta pushed himself faster. The guards gave him a startled look as he passed them but they made no move to stop him.

Every few seconds Souta would glance up to keep track of the flying thief, he noticed that the raven seemed to have slowed down before circling around then headed back in the same direction it was flying in to start with. It was almost like the raven didn't want him to lose track of where it was going and it made Souta's brows furrow in confusion. The only thing he could think of was that the raven _wanted_ him to follow... But if that was the case then why did it take his star stones? The only reason Souta could think of was if the bird took it to bait him, but why? Souta was snapped out of thought when he saw the raven make a sharp right and he was quick to follow. Looking around, he noticed that he was now in a deserted ally... Well perhaps not completely deserted. Souta's pace began to slow down as he noticed a small figure stand up at the end of the ally way. Souta watched as the raven approached the figure and dropped his bag of star stones, which the person caught easily, before the bird circled around and landed on the figure's right shoulder. Cautiously he approached, walking until he was about 30 feet from the new presence and then stopped completely. Souta took a moment to study the person in front of him, he noticed the figure was small and slender, feminine curves told him immediately that the person before him was female. She wore dark blue hakamas, her white haori was mostly obscured by the black cloak she wore, which the hood of it also hid most of her facial features as well. The blue of her miko garb told Souta that she was a miko of the North and that made him slightly uneasy. Everyone knew of the news about the House of Takahashi transferring to the West and he couldn't help but wonder if this stunt was due to retaliation, she wore no House crest so he knew that she wasn't apart of the new Western House that was to replace his.

Kagome's breath hitched as she stared at her brother, words lodged in her throat and for the first time she didn't know what to do or say. Slowly she looked him up and down, he was tall, at least a head taller than herself. His eyes were bright blue, the same color as her own. His obsidian colored hair was cropped short and the slight stubble on his chin gave him a kind of roguish look. Tears began to well up, making her vision blur... He looked just like father. She clenched the bag of star stones to her chest and held her breath as she tried to get her emotions back together but she knew she had failed the moment she felt a tear escape to trail slowly down her cheek. Her heart clenched at her brother's confused and uneasy expression.

A strong breeze tore through the ally which caused Kagome's cloak and long wavy onyx locks to whip forward. Her cloak still managed to keep her features hidden but Souta was able to catch a glimpse of the shiny tear and his confusion doubled. He couldn't help but wonder why the woman before him was crying but quickly shook the thought away, now was not the time, he needed his star stones. Souta cleared his throat and hardened his stare to glare at the female before him. "As the Heir to the House of Higurashi, I demand that you return my star stones. If not, I will be forced to take you in for punishment... But if you comply, then this little incident can be forgotten."

Kagome ignored her brother's demand as she slowly began to walk forward, she couldn't hold back anymore. For years she thought that she was the last one left and now all her pent up emotions at being able to see her brother stand right before her were completely overwhelming. It hurt that her brother didn't recognize her but at the same time she understood why he didn't, he thought she was dead but now she was determined to change that. With that thought in mind, Kagome bolted forward. Yatagarasu flew off her shoulders as she raced forward but Kagome didn't stop until she had her arms wrapped around her brother's waist. "Souta!"

Souta tensed as the strange woman wrapped her arms around him. His whole body froze and he didn't know what to do. His first instinct was to push her away but he managed to stopped himself. He wasn't entirely surprised that the woman knew his name, everyone in the West did and just about everyone in the land knew of the 8 great Houses. It was the familiarity that the woman approached him with that threw him off. No one has ever just thrown themselves at him like this. Looking down at the woman, he couldn't make out what she looked like due to her cloaked head being buried in his chest. He uncomfortably shifted, not quite sure what to do next as he kept his arms down at his side. A moment later he cleared his throat with hopes of gaining her attention. He watched as she lifted her head and opened her mouth to speak again.

"Souta, it's me! Do you really not recognize me?!" Kagome asked in almost a begging tone, while refusing to let her brother go just yet. She watched as he looked down at her with complete bewilderment, which caused her to huff in irritation. Slowly Kagome lifted her hand up to grab the hood of her cloak before she pulled it down. She watched her brother's face for a few moments, trying to find any sort of recognition but still, only confusion remained.

Souta looked down at the woman before him and the first thing he noticed was how bright her blue eyes were. She was the first human he had come across that had blue eyes like his own, of course that wasn't counting his father and his twin sister. His brows furrowed as he looked at the woman's features more closely and he found it odd that she did actually look very familiar but he couldn't place where he could have met her. He knew no Northern mikos outside of the ruling Northern House. It wasn't until he felt the miko before him release her reiki that he felt a more familiar jolt run through his body. He knew this reiki, his powers began to rise as he used it to inspect her. Memories began to bombard him and his eyes widened in shock. _'impossible... There is no way...'_ Souta thought as he lifted his hands up and placed them on the woman's shoulders, which caused her to look up at him. He searched her blue eyes, hoping that they could answers all the questions that were running through his mind. His hands clenched and his chest tightened with pain as he looked down at her. He almost didn't want to ask but he knew he had to. "Kagome?"

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 **END OF CHAPTER 4**

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A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

 **(MYTHOLOGY FACTS)**

 **Yosei: They are what is commonly known as fairies. Some believe that they are capable of bringing the dead back to life. - Japanese Mythology**

 **Koro-pok-guru: Are little people that live in pits with leave roofs throughout the forest. They prefer to remain unseen.- Japanese Mythology**


	5. The House of Ashes Pt 1

**Faith in the Stars, For Our Fate is in Your Hands**

~I do not own Inuyasha. This story is purely fan made.

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A/N: Thank you everyone for your reviews!

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 **Original Characters**

*Lord Ryou- Lord of the North

*Lady Kasumi- Lady of the North, Lord Ryou's mate

*Ken'ichi Higurashi- Human lord of the West/ Head of the house of Higurashi

*Nori Takahashi- Human Lord of the North/ Head of the House of Takahashi

*Hinata Matsumoto- Head of the House of Matsumoto

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 **Chapter 5: The House of Ashes Pt. 1  
**

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Kagome's gave her brother a faint smile before she nodded her head and stepped back, giving him some space. "It's me, Souta."

Souta for his part was struck with shock. He didn't even know how this was possible, how did his sister survive that night? Lord Touga and his men had searched everywhere but there had been no sign of her what so ever. "How?"

He didn't need to elaborate further, Kagome had understood his question. She couldn't help but wonder the same about him. "Lord Ryou had found me. I can tell you the story later if you would like." Kagome paused as she looked back up at her brother before nervously biting her bottom lip. They really needed to leave. They needed to put as much distance as possible between them and the West, but would her brother come with her?

"Souta..." Kagome paused as she waited for her brother's full attention. "Come with me?!"

Souta raised an eyebrow as he was taken out of thought. "To where?"

Kagome continued to lightly nibble on her bottom lip as she hesitantly glanced around her surroundings. After she was positive that they were fully alone, Kagome turned her bright blue orbs back towards Souta. "To the heart of the North."

Souta's brows furrowed. "Hokkaido? Is that where you have been this whole time? Why didn't you try to come back to the West?" Souta continued as he began to pace. He still was trying to wrap his head around the fact that his sister was alive and standing right before him. 10 years... For 10 years he believed that he was the only one left and now all of a sudden... He wasn't.

Kagome watched as her brother walked himself from one side of the alley to the other, his nervous pacing was beginning to put her on edge. "I didn't come back because I had heard that everyone was dead... And I believed that up until a week ago."

Souta paused as he turned to look at her, his brows furrowed down in confusion. "How did you not know I was alive? Lord Touga had sent a message to all the lords to let them know of my survival, including Lord Ryou."

Kagome gave a small shrug. "Lord Ryou didn't tell me right away. He kept me in the dark for my own protection. It wasn't clear as to why Lord Touga kept your survival a secret for so long, so he sought to do the same for my own protection."

Souta sighed as he ran his right hand through his short locks. He remained silent as he lost himself in thought. Kagome slowly walked towards him before gently putting her hand on his shoulder. "Souta, we really should get going. Will you come with me?"

Souta looked back down at his sister again before taking a deep breath. Thinking back to the conversation he overheard from Lord Touga and his Aunt Hinata, he realized that he really didn't have a choice. Not that he wanted to be apart from his sister now that he found out that she was alive. It was then that another realization came to him. Looking over at the raven that stole his star stones, it finally clicked in his mind exactly _who's_ celestial beast that was... And with that thought he realized that he didn't have to leave the West. His eyes widened slightly as he studied his sister before taking a step back away from her. He was no longer the Higurashi Heir, his sister was... That is if the raven was hers. "Is he yours?"

Kagome's brows furrowed as she watched her brother step away from her but when she heard his next question, it became clear as to why he did. Looking down, Kagome slowly nodded. She waited a few moments before she peaked back up at him. His frame was stiff and his eyes had a far away look in them as he stared at Yatagarasu. "He is... His name is Yatagarasu. He's my soul companion."

Souta slowly nodded in a distracted manner. "Is he one of ours?" He had thought that the only star stone that was missing was Ryujin's.

Kagome nodded again but then realized that her brother was still not looking at her. "Yes, I believe he was one of mother's star stones."

This caught Souta's attention and he quickly looked over at his sister. The raven was a Setsuna star stone. This information made him slightly nervous, over the years, Lord Touga had always carefully watched him as he tried to connect with his parent's star stones. He would split them into two groups, the Higurashi stones and the Setsuna stones. This always confuse him and it wasn't until a couple of years ago that he found out why Lord Touga would do this. The truth about the House of Setsuna was a dark one, before hand he would hear whispers about it here and there but when Lord Touga finally sat him down and told him the truth it was far worst than any of the rumors he had heard from others in the summoning community.

His grandfather, Takemaru, had once been the head of the secondary House of the West. His House rivaled the Higurashi's in both power and in star stones. He was told that his grandfather had once been an honorable and well respected man until one day he slowly started to loose his mind. His behavior became erratic, his anger slowly started to get the best of him and he would lash out at anything and everyone in his household before locking himself away in his study for weeks on end. The only sign of life that told others he was still alive was the sound of him talking to himself and his manic laughter. He would rant and rave about how to get more power, as well as how he would bring everyone to their knees, he would make humans and yokai alike fear him and his new power. Everyone that knew his grandfather were terrified and confused. He had never use to be like this and that was when his grandmother had went to Lord Touga to tell him of her concerns about her husband's behavior. She told him that this new behavior had started when Takemaru had found a new star stone. The stone had been sealed away by his ancestors and had been locked up in an old storage room. Takemaru had stumbled upon it one day and managed to break to seal on the small box and since then he hadn't been the same. Touga had instantly became concerned by this and agreed to check into it. The House of Setsuna had a long history of mental illness that dated back to when his own father ruled the West and it wasn't until he read further into the Setsuna history that he realized it all revolved around a certain star stone that they were assigned to guard. Every few generations a Setsuna descendant would get overly curious and break the sealed box only to fall to it's madness. That's when it became clear to Touga that he needed to get a hold of this star stone and destroy it once and for all for the sake of the Setsuna bloodline, as well as the sake of the western residents. It was only a few days later that word of Takemaru's wife had died finally reached his ears, and the cause of her death was by Takemaru himself.

Acting fast, Lord Touga had rounded up his soldiers and contacted Ken'ichi Higurashi to assist him in taking down Takemaru. Ken'ichi had been young at the time, he had just won his first tournament that had secured his place as the human Lord of the West which would have made Lord Touga nervous due to his inexperience in the battlefield but he knew he had no choice. The only way that this stone could be destroyed was by a powerful summoner, and Ken'ichi was the strongest of his kind. Once both Lords had made it to the Setsuna household they were met with nothing but fire and destruction. The soldiers scoured the grounds, finding nothing but scorched bodies as they looked for the man responsible. When they finally found Takemaru he was already half way through summoning the beast responsible for all this madness. Lord Touga had told him that he had never felt something so dark, something so nefarious as he did when the beast had started to rise from it's magical diagram that was placed on the floor of Takemaru's study.

Souta had never seen Lord Touga so shook as he spoke of the beast. He had left no detail out as he described the beast out loud, no detail except his name. Souta always figured it was because Lord Touga feared that if he said it out loud than perhaps ill omen would fall upon him as it had for the Setsuna bloodline... That was what everyone else believed anyway, funny how even youkai Lords fall to superstition. When Lord Touga finally continued his story, he told him that he was the one to engage Takemaru in battle and his father had dealt with the beast. As the shrine burned heatedly around them, Lord Touga and his father fought with everything they had to take his grandfather down and eventually they succeeded. As the sun kissed the horizon to start a new day, Takemaru was defeated and the beast he was trying to summon was destroyed. The only survivor of the Setsuna bloodline was his mother, Aoi Setsuna. That was how his parent's had met each other. His father had taken in his mother to help her and soon after they had fallen in love. At least that was the long story put short.

"Souta, is something wrong?" Kagome's voice snapped Souta out of thought and he finally tore his eyes away from the raven.

Souta gave his head a small shake before he looked over at his sister and answered. "No Kagome, everything is alright." Thinking back on her request, Souta allowed his thoughts to wander again... Perhaps they didn't need to leave. His sister has proven herself the Higurashi Heir, therefore their House didn't need to be denounced. Lord Touga hasn't made the denouncement public yet so there was still time to change this.

"Kagome..." Souta waited until his sister looked at him before he continued. "Come back to the Shiro with me. Once Lord Touga finds out that your alive he will change his mind about the denouncement. Our House can still rule the West."

"I'm sorry Souta..." Kagome weaved her fingers together in a nervous manner as she spoke. "I... I won't leave the North."

Souta's sharp blue eyes narrowed as he studied his sister. "Kagome, our place is in the West... It's our home and where we belong."

Kagome stiffened before she glared back at her brother. "I know where my place is Souta and it's not here." She watched as her brother silently struggled with his thoughts before her eyes softened. She knew what she was asking of him would be difficult, she was basically asking him to leave the place he called home. He was hesitant which she could understand. But unlike Lord Touga, Lord Ryou had a place and position for them... And he wasn't trying to replace them. Kagome let out a small sigh before she slowly approached her brother. "Souta, I understand that you don't want to leave but our place isn't here anymore. Lord Touga has already agreed to replace our House with the Takahashi's. Lord Nori and his family have already left the North and are on their way here as we speak... It's too late Souta."

Souta's fists clenched tightly, he knew his sister was right but he still didn't want to admit it. He didn't want to leave the family that took him in. He owed Lord Touga so much and leaving felt like he was betraying him in some way. Inuyasha was like a brother and was his best friend, then there was Rin. A small blush dusted his cheek as he thought of the young adopted hime... But if he stayed he would be leaving Kagome. Even though 10 years have passed, Kagome was of the same blood, his only true family that he had left. How was he suppose to choose? Especially so quickly.

Kagome watched as her brother struggle with himself and sighed with rejection. She should have known that he would struggle with this. Of course he didn't want to leave, this was his family just like the Northern royalty was hers. It was a foolish of her to think that he would just drop everything and come back with her. Blinking her eyes rapidly, Kagome held back her tears as she made her decision. Looking down at the small bag clutched in her hand, Kagome carefully opened it and slowly dumped the star stones into her palm. Summoning her reiki, Kagome focused on the stones as she listened for the familiar whispering to see which beasts would accept her. Slowly, 6 stones began to glow brightly as their whispered words reached her ears. With a small smile, she picked them up before putting them in her right pocket. Looking down at the rest of the stones, she looked them over. Seven stones were left, she figured that these must be Souta's. She could see as their auras tried to reach out for him but he didn't seem to notice, which she found odd. She couldn't help but wonder which one was his soul companion. With a small shake of her head, Kagome carefully put the 7 stones back into the small pouch before handing it back to her brother.

Souta looked down at the bag with confusion. Why was she giving him the rest of the star stones? She was the heir, therefore all the stones were hers. He didn't understand why she would only take half of them and give him the rest. Reaching out, he took the small bag but couldn't help but ask her why. "Kagome why are you giving me these?"

Kagome tilted her head to the side in confusion before letting out a small laugh as she noticed the look on her brother's face. "Because they are not mine... Those are your star stones brother."

Souta's confusion deepened before he tried to hand them back to her. It was best that she take them anyway, if he didn't have them then their Aunt couldn't take them. "Kagome, you are the Higurashi heir... All the star stones are yours."

Kagome full out laughed this time, she couldn't help it. Her brother had to be joking. She wasn't the only Higurashi heir, they both were. Although she didn't know how ruling their House was going to work but she figured that they would figure it out later. Plus, she really didn't have any desire to rule... No she had other plans, plans of travel and adventure. As far as she was concerned Souta could have the title of Lord Higurashi because she had no desire to be cooped up in a palace. "No brother, _we_ _are both_ the heirs of the House of Higurashi. These star stones don't whisper to me... They are reaching out for you. Can you not hear them?"

Souta's eyes widened. What his sister said was impossible though, there could only be one heir. Their was no way that what she said could be true, even though he wished that it would be. "Kagome, that's non sense. There can only be one heir, plus the beasts don't call for me. I've tried summoning them but have failed. That's why our House is being denounced. It's best that you take them, Aunt Hinata is trying to take them from us but she can't now that you are the heir... They are rightfully yours."

Kagome shook her head as she thought about her brother's words. He was wrong, he was just as much the heir as she was. Although she didn't understand why he couldn't hear their whispers, she knew that what she saw was correct. She seen them reach out to him... Perhaps he wasn't listening hard enough. Maybe he didn't know how. With a frown Kagome looked down at the bag before looking up at the sky to look at the sun's position. She had some time still, perhaps she could help him... But not here. It was too dangerous to do it here. Looking back at Souta, Kagome made her decision. "I can help you listen if you would like, but not here. We would have to go somewhere more secluded."

Souta's breath hitched, as he thought about his sister's offer. He supposed that it wouldn't hurt to try one more time. The worst thing that could happen would be to fail again. Looking back over at his sister, Souta gave her a nod. "Where should we go?"

Kagome gave him a bright smile. "We need to leave town, it would be too dangerous to do so around so many people. I was planning on visiting our old home. We can do it there."

Souta's brows scrunched down in confusion and he couldn't help but wonder why his sister would want to go there. The shrine was nothing but ruins. "Why are you going there? There's nothing really to see. The shrine is too dangerous to walk through."

Kagome pulled out their father's journal from her belt and held it up for Souta to see. "Father had mentioned in his journal that he had built a secret study beneath the statue of Tsukuyomi no mikoto. I wish to see what is down there. I don't believe the fire destroyed it. Will you come with me?"

Souta thought for a moment. It would take them half the day just to reach the shrine, which meant that he wouldn't make it back in time for the festivities. Lord Touga wouldn't be pleased by his absence but if he could prove that he could summon the star stones then he was sure that he would be forgiven. There could still be time to change the denouncement. With that thought in mind, Souta made his decision. Looking back at Kagome, Souta gave her a nod. "Let's go."

Kagome smiled before giving him a nod in return. Turning around, the siblings left the alley and began to make their way through the busy streets. It didn't take long for the twins to pass through the gates of the large village and once they did, Kagome veered off to the right and entered into the forest. They walked for another ten minutes before Kagome came to a stop. Souta watched as Kagome whispered something to Yatagarasu before the raven hopped off his sister's shoulder and landed on the ground. He watched in awe as the bird burst into into flames and once the fire died down, a large raven towered over them. He watched as Yatagarasu shook his feathers before bringing his large body down onto the ground and once he did, Souta saw Kagome walk over and climbed on top of him.

Once Kagome was situated, she looked over her shoulder and searched for her brother. "Well, are you coming?"

Souta's eyes widened as he looked between his sister and the raven. "You want me to get on him?"

Kagome laughed. "Of course, it would take too long to walk there. So we're going to fly."

Souta took a deep breath as he looked at Yatagarasu. He supposed his sister was right but he couldn't help but be nervous about it. Slowly Souta walked up to the bird before he carefully climbed on top of him.

Once Kagome felt Souta situate himself she let a big smile take over her face. "Hold on tight and whatever you do, don't let go!"

Souta tensed and clutched onto his sister as he felt Yatagarasu unfold his wings and swiftly take off. He prayed to every Kami he could think of that this ride would end quickly.

* * *

Three hours had passed before they Yatagarasu landed in the destroyed courtyard of their family shrine. The twins looked around in awe at how damaged their old home was. This was the first time that either of them had stepped foot here in the past ten years. Memories flashed through both of their minds as they looked around. Absentmindedly, both siblings slowly got off Yata before flames consumed him again as he shrunk down to his smaller size. Right afterwards, Kagome felt as Yata flew up and landed back on her right shoulder.

Excitement coursed through Kagome as she looked towards the shrine. She was finally here, she could finally search for the hidden study and learn more of her father's secrets. Plus, now that she had her half of the star stones, she needed to look for more of her father's journals. He had mentioned that he had other journals that went into details on all their family's star stones. Taking an excited step forward, Kagome took off towards the entrance of the shrine with Souta following closely behind her. Once she raced up the 12 steps that lead to what was left of the shoji door. Kagome carefully climbed over and ducked under the collapsed wood beams to make her way into the main worship hall of the shrine. It didn't take her long to reach her destination and once she did, she paused to take a good look around. Most of the room was filled with rubble from when the roof had caved in so it was hard to find the statue she was looking for. She just hoped that the statues weren't buried under all the debris. Walking forward again, she slowly began to climb the mountain of rock and wood. The moment she did she felt Yata fly off her shoulder, but she decided not to pay him any mind. It wasn't long before she heard Souta start climbing behind and she was happy that he decided to come with her instead of waiting outside.

"Kagome, do you know where your going?" Souta asked as he looked around nervously. This mountain of debris couldn't be safe and he couldn't help but worry for their safety. Looking up, he frowned at his sister's back as she seemed to have no fear of the danger this environment could cause.

Without a pause in her step, Kagome took a deep breath as she continued to climb. Once she was almost to the top is when she decided to answer her brother's question. "Yes, the statue of Tsukuyomi no mikoto should be just beyond this pile. Hopefully the secret entrance hasn't been damaged."

Souta gave a sigh but decided to say nothing more. It wasn't long before he watched as his sister reached the top and without a pause, he watched as she quickly disappeared when she started to climb down. By the time he reached the top he noticed that Kagome was already down below standing before the 10 foot statue of Tsukuyomi. Taking a moment to catch his breath, Souta slowly made his way down the rubble to stand next to his sister. They both studied the tall marble figure for a moment before Souta asked asked a question. "So where is this secret door at?"

"Underneath it." Kagome looked over at her brother with a small smile.

Souta looked at Kagome with disbelief. "And how exactly do you plan on moving this _giant_ statue to get to it?"

Kagome just gave him a cheeky smile before she looked down at Yatagarasu. Yata gave a loud squawk before he took a couple of hops back and transformed into his larger size. Kagome gently grabbed her brother's arm as she lead him away from the statue just as Yata took flight. Once they were about 20 feet away, the twins watched as Yata grabbed the statue with his talons and began to lift the statue up before setting it aside. Souta watched as Kagome raced over to the dark square hole in the ground before he decided to follow her.

Kagome leaned over to try and see down the dark hole, she was definitely going to some light. Looking around, Kagome noticed an unlit torch hanging on the wall before making her way over to it. Once she grabbed it, Kagome made sure to hold it with both hands before she closed her eyes to concentrate. Reaching deep down within herself, Kagome began to bring forth the power that rested at her core. Soon a deep red glow began to surround her and just as it appeared, the torch in her hands began to burn brightly with fire. Opening her eyes, Kagome looked over at her brother with a bright smile. "Are you ready?"

Souta gave her a small nod and watched as Kagome ran over to stand next to him. Leaning down, Kagome was the first to noticed the wooden ladder. Turning around, she carefully stepped down and slowly started to descend into the dark room, once she reached about the half way point Souta began to follow her.

When Kagome's foot finally reached the floor, she let go of the ladder to look around. She still couldn't see much but she did notice another torch resting on the left wall right next to her. Reaching up, she grabbed it and lit it with her own torch. By that time Souta was standing right behind her. Turning around, she handed one of the torches to him. "Feel along the right side of the wall and light the torches you find. I'll do the same on the left side."

Souta gave a nod of understanding before doing what he was told. It didn't take long before the twins had the hidden study illuminating brightly with the fire of torches. Once Kagome found the last unlit torch she reach for it and replaced it with the torch in her hand, then set the unlit torch down below it before turning around to scan the room. The study was larger than she thought it would be, the left side of the wall was nothing but bookshelves which were completely filled. Chests lined up along the right side and in the middle of the room was a large wooden desk where she assumed her father worked at. The back wall is what caught her attention the most though. Walking forward, Kagome made her way towards the two large statues to take a good look at them. She could hear Souta's footsteps closely behind her.

Slowly coming to a stop, Kagome looked up at the 7 foot tall statue of Kagu-tsuchi. Scanning the statue, the first thing she noticed was the large marble bowl at his feet and a smile touched her lips. Stepping closer, Kagome looked down beside the bowl before she saw a box of incense sticks and reach over to pick one up. Clutching the thin stick in her hands, Kagome leaned her face closer before gently blowing on top of the incense. Within seconds the tip of the stick caught fire and very slowly began to burn. With another smile, Kagome closed her eyes and began her prayer. "Hi no Kagutsuchi, I send you my prayers. I offer you the fire in my soul with hope for your mighty blessing. Forever is my faith in the stars, for my fate is in your hands." Kagome gave a deep bow to the statue before she straighten back up and gently put the burning incense into the empty bowl. The moment she let go of the stick, the bowl quickly blazed with fire. It's hot flames licked against her skin but she felt no burn. Kagome's smile grew bigger as she felt her aura absorb the heat. The stones in her pocket also heated as they too absorb the eternal fire. Kagome didn't need to look over at Yata to know that he was being empowered in the same way. Looking up, she deeply bowed again at the statue before she looked over at her brother.

"Are you going to give your prayers too brother?" Kagome curiously asked as she noticed the sad frown on her brother's face.

Souta looked up at the statue before him before looking back over to the statue his sister stood in front of. Taking a step forward, Souta stood next to Kagome as they both studied the statue of the fire god and answered. "I can try, but the only god I have prayed to was Tsukuyomi no mikoto.I have never sent prayers to Hi no Kagutsuchi before."

Kagome let a small frown cross her lips as she lost herself in thought. "Souta, you would only need to send prayers to Hi no Kagutsuchi if you have a fire star stone that would need replenishing. His power isn't your core element. You take after father, so you need to seek blessings from Kaminari-sama. Have you never prayed to him before?"

Souta frowned as he looked over at the tall statue of Raijin. "No, Lord Touga doesn't have a blessing altar for him. The only blessing altar in the Shiro is for Tsukuyomi no mikoto."

Kagome tilted her head in confusion, perhaps that was why Souta couldn't connect with his star stones. She didn't hear Yatagarasu's whispers until after she sent prayers to Kagu-tsuchi. Turning towards her brother, Kagome lightly started to push him towards the statue of Raijin. "You know the prayers, right?"

Souta gave a small nod as they both stopped in front of the statue. "Yes, of course."

Kagome bent down and grabbed the two flint stones that rested next to the large metal bowl at Raijin's feet before handing them to her brother, then stood back. "Good, then send him your prayers."

Souta looked down at the two stones in his hand nervously. "What difference does it make? I have sent many prayers to Tsukuyomi no mikoto before and nothing changed. How would praying to Kaminari-sama make a difference?"

Kagome let out a frustrated sigh before She began to explain. "It makes all the difference Souta. Tsukuyomi no mikoto gives favor to Lord Touga's family but not necessarily ours. That's why every shrine in the West has not only a statue of Tsukuyomi no mikoto but they have others as well. Every shrine is different depending on which God's have given their favor. The House of Higurashi is favored by Kaminari-sama and the House if Setsuna is favored by Hi no Kagutsuchi." Kagome paused a moment as she studied her brother and was deeply surprised that he wasn't aware of this.

"I take after the Setsuna side so therefore I am favored by Hi no Kagutsuchi. You take after father so you need to pray to Kaminari-sama in order to unlock your core element. I believe this is why you haven't connected with your star stones yet. I didn't hear Yata's whispers until after my first prayer to Hi no Kagutsuchi."

Souta thought a moment as he looked over at the statue before looking down at the stones again. What his sister said made sense and he suppose he had nothing to lose if he tried. Looking back over at Kagome, he gave her a nod of understanding. Taking a deep breath, Souta clutched his hands around both rocks before closing his eyes. Bringing forth his reiki, he filled both stones with it before he struck them together. Souta let out a gasp of surprise as he felt a surge of electricity race through his body before he looked down at his hands. His eyes widened with shock as he watch little electrical currents dance around them. His heart began to pump with excitement, this had never happened before. Quickly licking his dry lips, Souta closed his eyes and began to send his prayer. "Kaminari-sama, I send you my prayers. I offer you the spark in my soul with hope for your mighty blessing. Forever is my faith in the stars, for my fate is in your hands."

Souta gave a deep bow before he straighten back up and put the two electrical stones inside the metal bowl and held his breath. The moment he let go the bowl sparked with electricity as the currents danced around it's metal casing. Souta's breath hitched as he felt his aura absorb the electrical Sparks and soon he felt his star stones absorb it as well. He couldn't believe it, letting out a deep laugh before bowing again before the statue. Looking over at sister, he gave her a big smile, the first real smile in years. Reaching out to her, Souta pulled her into a tight hug as they both laughed.

"I told you it would work!" Kagome held onto her brother tighter for a moment longer before letting him go.

"You did... And I'm glad that I listened." Souta said as he turned around and headed towards his father's desk. Reaching for his pouch, Souta carefully opened it and slowly poured the star stones on top of the desk. All seven of them glowed brightly and soon he began to hear faint whispering. "I hear it... They whisper to me. How do I know which one is my soul companion?"

Kagome walked over to her brother and stood next to him. "By listening closely. Your soul companion will whisper the loudest."

Closing his eyes, Souta concentrated and tried to pick out the loudest one. Without looking, he reached out and grabbed one before opening his eyes to look down at it. _Raiju..._ That was his father's companion. Summoning his reiki, Souta filled the stone up with as much of it as he could and watched in amazement as the stone glowed brighter and brighter. It wasn't long until the stone was too bright to look at so he had to look away. Light flooded the room for a brief moment then all of a sudden it died down. Looking over, Souta gasped as he saw a golden wolf standing before him. Looking over his form, Souta watched as small electrical currents danced through his fur before kneeling in front of him. Reaching out, he ran his right hand through the thick coat and laughed when Raiju reached over to lick his face.

Kagome smiled at the two as they started to bond. Their bonding will take a couple of hours to complete so she figured that this would be the best time to look through her father's study. The first place she searched was the bookshelves and after a hours Kagome had a nice big stack of journals sitting on top of her father's desk. Sitting down, she began to skim through some of them to see if any sparked her interest and if they did then she would stack them in a different pile so she knew what books she wanted to take with her.

Before she knew it three hours had passed. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, Kagome than lifted her aching arms up to stretch. Once she felt a couple of pops, Kagome frowned as she noticed something odd. It was quite, too quite. Looking over her shoulders, she spotted Raiju and Souta curled around each other on the floor passed out and smiled. Off to the right, Yata was also resting on top of one of the shelves of the bookcase. So it just left her wide awake. Slowly getting up, Kagome stretched again before making her way over to the entrance of the secret study and looked up to see if it was still light out... Which it was but barely. It wouldn't be long now before it would completely dark outside, so it looked like they were camping here for the night. That was fine with her though, she still wanted to look through the chest anyway.

Slowly approaching the first one, Kagome began rifling through all the treasures one by one. Mostly what she found seem to be heirlooms from both Houses and Kagome made a mental note to herself about coming back to bring all the chests to the North. It wasn't until she reached the last chest that she found something different. Looking down in wonder, Kagome carefully grabbed the red and gold bundle of cloth before unfolding it. A gasp of surprise escaped her lips as the robe unfolded, memories from long ago filtered across her mind as she lightly traced her finger over the golden dragon stitched on the back of the silk robe. This was her father's ceremonial robe, he wore and battle in this at every tournament. Looking down at the other robe, she noticed a deep red phoenix on the back of that one. That must have been her mother's. Tears clouded her eyes as a memory popped up from when she was little. It wasn't long before the shrine was destroyed that she remembered her parents dressing in these. She could still faintly hear her mother's soothing voice as she would laugh at her younger self as she tried to dress in these very robes. She remembered how her and Souta would beg their parents to let them go with them but they refused. They had been too young at the time to witness the great tournament.

With a small sniff, Kagome gently wiped her eyes before she carefully folded the robe back up... She was going to take these with her now when they left. The rest she would come back later for. After setting her father's robe on top of the desk, Kagome turned around and picked up her mother's robe. As she did, a small golden box caught her eye. Setting the robe aside, Kagome picked the box up and examined it carefully. The first thing she noticed was the ofuda seal that was wrapped tightly around it. Bringing the box closer, Kagome tried to read what was written on the seal but it was hard to understand since the ends overlapped each other. The only words that she could make out were 'protection' and 'evil'.

Tilting her head to the side, curiosity ran through her like wildfire. She turned the box over once before lifting it up beside her ear and gave a slight shake. She could definitely hear something clinking together in there. Taking a deep breath, Kagome grabbed the edge of the ofuda a tried to rip it off but ended up shocked for her efforts. Pulling her hand back with a small hiss, Kagome glared down at the offending thing that harmed her with a frown. Nooowww she really wanted to see what was in there. What could her father have been hiding that required such a strong protection seal. Calling upon her powers, Kagome waited until her hands glowed a deep red before she grabbed the edges again and pulled harder. The shock she received this time was stronger and she was forced shake her hands wildly to get rid of the fierce tingling. With an angry huff, Kagome decided to try one last time. The box was really going to get it now.

Looking around briefly, Kagome took notice that her brother was still fast asleep and decided to place a barrier around herself so that way her power wouldn't wake him. Once she was satisfied with it's strength, Kagome turned back and glared down at the box as she rolled up her sleeves. It didn't occur to Kagome that perhaps her father had this sealed for a good reason, nor did it occur to her that whatever was in the box maybe dangerous. All that coursed through Kagome was irritation and curiosity, along with pure determination. Grabbing the edges one last time, Kagome pushed as much of her reiki into the seal as possible as she began to pull them apart. Gritting her teeth, she fought through the pain that the Sparks caused and continued to pull until she finally successed in ripping the ofuda off. With a triumphant laugh, Kagome tossed the seal aside as she looked down at the small golden box and carefully opened it.

What the box held inside puzzled her even more. Two stones glowed brightly, the one on the right she recognized as a star stone but the one on the left confused her. Setting the box down, Kagome carefully picked up the pink bobble looking jewel and examined it closely. It seemed to be some sort of jewelry since she noticed that it was attached to a necklace of prayer beads. Perhaps it was a family heirloom, with a shrug of her shoulders, Kagome reached up to take her hood down before she place the pretty necklace over her head and rest gently around her neck. Admiring it for a few moments more, Kagome soon decided to tuck the glowing jewel beneath the folds of her white kosode before she focused her attention on the mysterious star stone.

Picking up the red and black swirling stone, Kagome took a moment to rub it between her fingers. Humming softly, Kagome summoned some of her reiki to examine the stone and was shocked when it started to whisper to her. Holding her breath, Kagome focused and tried to listen to what it was saying. Darkness filtered out of the stone in soft waves, it whispered sweet nothings accompanied with dark promises and Kagome couldn't help but gasp at what she heard. Pulling the stone further away from herself, Kagome stare down at it in an almost hypnotic trance. Turning it slowly, almost absentmindedly, Kagome looked for the dark one's name. It didn't take her long to find it either, carved in small kanji, his name stood out like a horrifying omen.

 _'Shuten Doji'_

* * *

 **END OF CHAPTER 5**

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for reading! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.

 **(MYTHOLOGY FACTS)**

Tsukuyomi (Tsukuyomi no mikoto)- God of the moon

Raiju- Lightning wolf and companion of Raijin the God of lightning

Raijin (Kaminari-sama)- God of lightning

Kagu-tsuchi (Hi no Kagutsuchi)- God of fire

Shuten Doji- One of the most feared yokai in Japanese folklore. He was considered the King of Oni.


End file.
